A Murder At A Destination Wedding
by Where's Beckett
Summary: Number 6. Read my other "A Murder In..." series to give background to this AU. Our favorite couple are invited by two dear friends to go to their destination wedding. But of course things go wrong And maybe something goes right for our love birds. We just have to see where this one goes from there As in the prior stories this story has romance, drama, and humor
1. Chapter 1

**Here we go again**

 **As usual. I do not own the TV show or any of the players. Because if I did, I would not have thrown away the last 7 years as the current show runners have done**

 **If you have read any of my work, you would know that I would have done something much different than what they have**

 **So having put out my dislike of the season (I stopped watching after 8x04) here is this latest tale of their love story**

 **Number 5 in my 'A Murder In..." series. Please be sure to read them first because it is the history of them that is in my realm**

 **Please note. My stories are AU...Very much AU**  
 **I do not repeat canon. That is for others to do**

 **So...sit back, read and enjoy**

* * *

Katherine Beckett-Castle has settled back into her job that goes with her recent promotion to lieutenant. Along with her two cohorts both getting promotions to sergeant, the new positions have not changed the working relationship between the three of them, but it does give all of them more credibility at crime scenes and with officers from other precincts as well

Another benefit of the promotion is the ability of leaving the station at a decent time to go home to be with her guy. Even if it is to just sit and talk or cuddle, or listen to some music, or share some wine, have an early dinner. It is so very special to her now. More special than she would have ever thought it could be

And having been together for a year as a couple and coming up on their first anniversary married, Kate and Rick have just about settled into a life as a happily married couple.

All of Kate's personal items are now residing with her in the loft with the exception of some smaller, less important, things that were placed in storage but there was plenty of room for the most precious items of her past to have a place of honor in their joint family life

If anyone would have told her five years ago that she would not only be a married woman, but a happily married woman and especially who she would marry, she would have laughed out loud over the very thought that any part of it would happen.

But it did happen. It is all real. So very, very real. And at this moment she is on her way home to that very surreal place

She arrives at the loft at a little before six. She pulls her cruiser into the parking garage and parks in her designated space beside their Ferrari and the Mercedes

When she steps out and looks at the vehicles and considers their respective values she has to laugh. One automobile worth about one hundred thousand dollars, another one even much more and then a police cruiser worth barely 30 thousand counting all the special lights, radio, and other equipment added just for police use.

She can say, however, it has an interceptor engine and drive train and she would love to get Castle out to the track sometime and see who laps who even with his fancy red sports car

She steps out of the elevator to go into the lobby to check the box to pick up their mail. Most of their bills are sent to Rick's business manager for handling. Bills or any item requiring financial management go there. Other, more personal, items still come to the home address

Kate reaches in the box and pulls out several pieces of mail but she normally waits until she reaches the loft before looking through the envelopes to see what has arrived. There are always several advertising items except today what appears as a large envelope from his ex-wife, Meredith, mixed with all the other items

After dropping all the other things on the table Kate looks toward the study to see if her husband is still in there and if he is actually working on his next book. She can see his shadow at the desk.

"Hey babe, I'm home" she calls out to him as she enters into the bedroom

"Hi beautiful" he responds "You're home early. Something going on I need to know about?"

She sits on the edge of the bed and unzips her boots and pulls them off "No. I just wanted to spend a little extra time with my husband, that's all"

She stands and walks to the closet where she places her foot wear into the shelf. She then removes her service weapon and locks into the safe then strips the rest of her clothes and drops them into the dirty clothes bin.

"I'm going to grab a shower"

As she steps into the bathroom and starts the shower, she hears Rick respond to her "Dinner is in the oven and should be ready in about forty-five minutes. That gives you plenty of time to finish your shower"

"Thanks" she says as she steps into the warm relaxing water and begins to remove the grime of the day from her body.

After a wonderful refreshing cleansing, she steps back out and wraps a towel around herself.

Wrapped only in a towel, she walks out of the bedroom, into the study, and up behind her husband who is deeply engrossed in the chapter in front of him. He has not even noticed that she is only partly covered

"Hey, babe. How is it going?"

"OH, I am stuck"

"What is it?" she is leaning over his shoulder just brushing up against the back of his neck with her body

"I have Nikki and Rook chasing a bank robber into an abandoned building. The bad guy has opened a gas valve flooding the basement with natural gas. If Nikki fires her gun, the sparks will ignite the gas and blow up the building with Nikki and Rook inside killing everyone"

"How long have you been working on this?" Kate asks in a deep breathy voice

"Pretty much all afternoon"

"You know when I am stuck on a case like this I find that taking a break usually helps me find a solution"

Castle still has not looked up from his computer "I know. We will be taking a break when dinner is ready. That should give me the chance to come up with a solution…"

His view of the computer is broken, along with his train of thought, when the towel Kate WAS wearing is dropped in front of Rick and he hears her comment "I was thinking of a different kind of break that just might get your creative juices flowing even better"

He turns his head just in time to watch the love of his life disappear into the bedroom

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The insistent dinging of the kitchen timer brings Castle to the stove where he removes the casserole from the oven and turns off the cooking timer

He has on put on a pair of warm up pants and t shirt.

He is followed just moments later by Kate who is wearing a short silk robe and is barefoot

Both are clearly very satisfied

Kate begins setting out plates and glasses while Rick uncovers the single dish meal for the evening. A pork chop casserole cooked in rice with herb tomato sauce. He also has a simple Lettuce and tomato salad ready in the refrigerator

"I hope you're hungry" Castle states as he begins dishing up the main course

"Famished" is her response as she sits down on the stool beside where he husband will soon be. "You know how hungry I become after I have had a good workout" she leans into him causing him to miss a breath before kissing her on top of her head

After plating up the meal, Castle sits beside Beckett. He is still having trouble keeping his hands off of her. After a few small bites of the meal he finally speaks up

"What brought that on?" he questions while pointing toward the bedroom "As great as it always is, tonight was…you know…was even more intense"

He can see a blush start up her neck. The tough, hard nose, but very sexy detective is blushing

With a bite of dinner poised at her mouth "I don't know. I just felt like I needed that. You know a little conformation that you are still attracted to me"

He puts down his fork and turns to face Kate "Is something happening that I need to know about?"

"There is a white envelope of some kind from your first ex wife. Like a letter or something. It seems very large"

"Did you open it to see what it is?"

"No"

"A letter from Meredith caused you to become concerned?"

She is looking down "A little"

He turns to Kate and places his hands on her bare legs "Kate. That is probably a legal release document"

Confusion is on her face "Release? Release from what?"

"I am releasing her from all financial responsibility relating to bringing up Alexis. The court originally charged her with one half of the financial responsibility for Alexis but since I have been blessed with a great series of books not including Nikki, I am releasing her from that obligation"

Kate looks up into Rick's face "That and the fact that Meredith is pretty much broke?"

"That too"

He sees her fighting tears in her eyes again "Kate what's wrong now?"

"You just have do stuff that just makes me love you even more. Don't you"

"Hey, if it gets me things like what we did earlier, I will do whatever it takes"

She pulls her arms around his neck "That was just the beginning"

"I love you"

"Back at ya"

After finishing dinner and the couple cleaning the kitchen, they move to the couch with easy listening jazz playing in the sound system and soft lighting and a nice bottle of wine

"Oh there was another envelope in the mail. It looks like an invitation of some kind" Kate goes to the table and retrieves the envelope and brings it back to her husband

They open it together and both have smiles appear on their faces

Castle speaks first "That is cool"

"It sure is" Beckett agrees "A destination wedding"

"For two great people" Rick confirms "My neighbor that had the hots for me…"

Kate finished "…and my old boyfriend"

"Wait a minute. You said it was only a kiss. You never said he was a boyfriend"

"Who said she had the hots for you?"

They both laugh out loud

* * *

 **To my readers. You know I like to start light...well there you go**


	2. Chapter 2

She stretches her arms out from under the sheets on her side of the bed. Opening her eyes, she looks from her side of the bed to the wall and the framed images gracing the room

Every time she looks at the large elephant photo she thinks about the elephant in the room that represented the two of them for so many years. It is appropriate that this is the place for each new day to begin for them

The morning at the loft begins as usual with Rick making breakfast for his wife as she is getting herself ready to attack the day at the station.

She looks at the reflection of the woman in the mirror in the dressing room and knows that it is time for her to have the conversation with her husband about the things happening inside her heart and inside her mind and the thing that her body wants to talk to him about. The feelings that are pushing themselves closer and closer to the surface for her

Rick is in the kitchen having already made the morning coffee and presented it to his wife as she is getting dressed and he has returned to the kitchen to finish the morning meal. Today it is her simple favorite. Fresh fruit and a small cup of yogurt

She is still buttoning her blouse as she enters the kitchen. She leans into him and gives him a kiss just at the edge of his lips. He tries to pull her closer but she brushes her nose across his and pulls away ever so slightly. "Hey…didn't you get enough last night?"

He stops and just holds her tight "I will never get enough of you Kate"

His constant words of love especially in the mornings keep her warm inside and actually make her want to have this conversation with him. And since he is being so adorable and loving to her, she thinks now is the perfect time to open this door

She sits on the stool and takes another sip of her coffee then places the cup down. "Babe, we need to talk"

He stops mid step thinking that this doesn't sound good. "That's the way bad conversations usually begin"

She can't help but smile at her husband "Nothing bad….at least I don't think it is bad and I really hope you don't think it is bad either"

He has placed himself on the stool next to her He knows that she will be leaving for work in just a few minutes and so he thinks this must not be too bad, since she would not be opening a bad conversation and then just walk out

"OK. What do we need to talk about?"

She is looking down almost shy "I want to talk about…" she looks up to his face "kids"

His eyes pop open "Kids? As in more than one?" Are you…?"

She grabs his hand. No. I am…not…yet. But I do want to talk to you about that…about us…I mean…if you want to talk about having more…another child"

"With you? Absolutely yes…I mean if you want to…do you?"

He thinks he sees a tear in her eye "Are you crying Kate?"

"No…I mean not sad…but I want to know if you…"

He takes a firm grip on her hands. "Katherine Beckett Castle. I love you. I want to have a baby with you. Absolutely yes. I want you to become a mother. I think you will be an amazing mother…if you are ready I mean"

"So if you are ready" she pauses in her statement "I was thinking that we can start trying next month"

She sees his face light up like the morning sun rising over the buildings in downtown Manhattan

"That is perfect" he finally responds "We will be going to the wedding in Vail"

She continues the thought "Brett and Sara get married and they have a honeymoon…"

He pulls her into his arms "and you and I…"

She smiles into him "Have a little second honeymoon all our own" as she wraps her arms around her husband "and make a baby"

It is a good thing she is a supervisor at the department. Her being a little late to work is not a large problem this morning

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

During the next month before the scheduled trip to Colorado for the wedding, Kate makes an appointment with her OB/GYN to work out the details of her planning to get pregnant. The doctor puts her on pre-natal vitamins and gives her a nutrition schedule designed to alieve some of the strain that a baby will have on her body. And the doctor insists that her husband guarantees Kate's compliance with the diet. She arranges for the removal of the IUD that she has been using up to this point so that everything is ready for the addition to the Castle clan

For Kate, the next four weeks seemed to crawl by. She had not realized how much her body was craving a child until she actually consciously thought about it, but having it high on her list of desires has made her feel so very differently than she ever experienced in the past.

She actually has noticed something changing inside herself and Castle has told her that she was showing signs of nesting. She poked him when he said that but she knew it was true. She has found herself actually looking at baby stuff in the stores and picking up magazines in the checkout line about raising families

And now she is thinking positively about making little Castle babies…just like Maddie accused her of wanting to do so many years before.

Today, Kate is so wanting to do this. She is almost giddy thinking about the upcoming wedding for their friends and her and Castle's planned second honeymoon activities

After scheduling the procedure to remove the IUD, The doctor told Kate that they could start trying as soon as possible and that is exactly what they have planned. Kate is told that it actually might take several months for the effect of the device to reverse and for her to be fertile again, but that is ok also since they are still enjoying each other so much.

When the weekend comes around for the getaway the pair packs up for the week long trip and head for the airport.

The flight to Denver International airport is much more comfortable in first class and seems to go very quickly. The wonderful company makes the trip so nice and enjoyable.

With the distance from the airport to the lodge, the air trip in fact takes only slightly longer than the ground transportation since there has already been one snowstorm hit the area and the roads are mostly passable but the car service has to be very careful in the long trip to the lodge up on the side of the mountains.

Once they arrive at the wedding destination lodge overlooking the Vail Valley the pair are totally in awe. Even Castle has to say that he is impressed. He had been skiing in Colorado before but he had gone to the major destinations and ski destinations and not the more quaint resorts

Once they arrive in their room on the third floor of the lodge, they have a wonderful view from their balcony almost all the way to the town of Vail itself. The ground is partly covered with the first light dusting of snow that actually has come a little earlier than expected. The wedding couple had worked diligently for the wedding to happen just before the first snow event of the season

Rick and Kate quickly unpack and then step out on the balcony to enjoy the view. Castle pulls Kate to his chest and holds her tightly. "Just trying to keep my girl warm" he comments

Leaning back against him she can be heard to softly hum then she places her head against his chest he can hear her softly speak "this is even more magical than on the ship"

He leans to her ear "The magical part is you. Having you here with me is all the magic I need"

She half turns into his chest "I love you Richard Castle"

"I love you Katherine Castle"

After a few minutes of cuddling in the cold air they decide to return to the warmth of their room

Once inside and closing the sliding balcony door they pause and are both looking at the bed waiting for them then Kate looks up at her husband

"Shall we get started now?"

Thirty minutes later the pair are walking down the hall arm in arm heading out to explore

their current location


	3. Chapter 3

This lodge would be a wonderful place to come for a ski vacation or a summer getaway or a Christmas holiday or a destination wedding but any or all of the reasons are of secondary importance to the couple walking down the corridor from their room at one end of the building toward the main lodge and dining room and other formal spaces.

Anyone watching Rick and Kate wrapped around each other would assume they are in love. Deeply in love and they would be correct

The lodge is a beautiful place. Castle thinks that he should have looked into a place just like this himself and taken his wife here without it being for a special occasion for someone else like the wedding they are attending tomorrow night

With every step he takes, Castle becomes more thankful for the woman beside him. Each step down this corridor represents the forward steps that they have taken in this last year together. Each step has him holding her more and more tightly until she finally reacts to his actions

"Castle! What is going on? You are about to squeeze the breath out of me"

He stops in front of the elevator and releases her from his grip "Oh sorry. I just got to thinking about some things"

She has real confusion on her face "What things are you thinking about that made you pull me into a death grip?"

She realizes he has stopped in front of the elevator doors and is holding her around the waist pressing her into him

"Five years ago you wanted me gone and out of your life and now we are planning on adding more to our family. Creating a new life"

She understands what he is saying so she puts her arms around his neck "We've come a long way baby"

"A very long way"

A quick kiss ensues but she can't help but wonder what brought this on. She is now feeling a little concern

"Rick. Are you having second thoughts about this?"

"Absolutely not. I am excited…it's just…"

Raising her eyebrows "…just what?"

"When I had Alexis, she was not planned. It was an accident. She just happened. Initially we were concerned about what we were doing but we dealt with it. I made a lot of mistakes. We made a lot of mistakes"

"And you learned a lot from that. Alexis is a great kid and I know she will be an amazing big sister to this baby and you now have all the answers. Right?"

"No. I do not have any answers. Each new story has its own set of questions. But I guess what I am feeling now with this…with you is…this time it is not going to be an accident. We are wanting this. We are planning for this. We are…"

"We are working for this" Kate responds

Castle pulls Kate against him again "This is going to be great. Parenthood is going to be great"

The elevator bell chiming kicks the couple out of the make out session they had started in the hallway. Once inside the cab Castle leans into his wife's neck. Kate lets out a soft hum "You just keep doing this Castle. OK?"

They two ride down to the main level and plan to have a lite lunch. Since the rehearsal is tonight along with a dinner, Castle and Beckett have chosen the soup and salad bar to tide them over until later

Just as they finish their selections and move toward a table, a woman's voice chimes in "Becks!"

Beckett spins to look back where the call came from and sees Maddie Quellar standing just inside the door into the dining area

"Maddie?" Kate is obviously surprised to see her old friend here "Hey girl good to see you. Are you here on vacation?"

"No I am working. Sara and Brett hired me to cater the dinner tonight and the wedding tomorrow"

"I didn't know you expanded into catering, Maddie, that is great" Kate responds honestly

"Yeah. The catering business is doing great. We actually make more money now because we keep the kitchen busy almost 24 hours a day" She pauses a moment then continues "You and Rick are also here for the wedding?"

"Oh yeah. Of course I knew Brett from school. We knew Brett…"

Maddie leans into Kate "we both knew him back then" and she laughs softly

Rick adds "And we own the house next door to Sara in the Hamptons"

"I heard that" Kate's old friend responds "You two finally tying the knot after so many years being more than friends" Maddie winks at Kate

"Kate, you look so good. I don't remember you ever looking like this. You are so radiant. You must be very happy. It is written all over you" she leans closer to Kate again and points a thumb at Castle "He must be taking good care of you"

Beckett looks at her husband "Yeah he does"

"Listen Becks, I need to go. I have some last minute details to resolve. I need to go into town and pick up a few perishable items this afternoon, and the weather reports say we might get some snow tomorrow and I want to pick up what I need before that happens"

"OK Maddie, be careful"

"I will" and the woman rushes out of the seating area

"That is nice" Kate comments "I am so glad that her business is doing very well"

Castle then adds "She is very good at what she does"

Pretending to be jealous, Kate glares at her husband "and just how do you know about how well Maddie's business is doing?"

"Paula and Gina both told me they have taken clients to Q3 and they have hired her to cater book launch parties for them on several occasions"

"You told Gina about my friend Maddie?" Kate has a nice tone in her voice

"That one short date Maddie and i went out on, before you arrested her for going out with me, I learned a lot about her passion for food"

Kate leans into his ear "What other passion did she show you that I need to worry about?"

The conversation is interrupted by the voice of a woman that appears beside the table "How is everything you two?"

Kate and Rick are both a little taken back by the presence of a woman standing next to them who is pregnant. Obviously very pregnant!

Castle answers first "Great. Everything is wonderful"

Beckett seems more stunned by the woman than her husband "Yes…yes it is"

"I am Robin Blankenship. My husband Barry and I own this lodge and we want to be sure you both have an unforgettable stay at our resort"

Kate stammers a little "Excuse me for saying this, but you are very obviously…"

"Pregnant? OH, yes. Very much. I am due in two weeks"

"Should you be working? I mean…?" Kate is feeling a little uncomfortable talking to a woman who is in the condition she is planning for herself

"OH the doctor tells me that I need to stay off my feet as much as possible. But sitting is so hard and getting up requires me to rent a crane. You know how it is…my ankles are swollen my rear end needs a 'Wide Load' sign, my boobs are double their normal size and the baby is sitting on my bladder making me go to the bathroom every ten minutes and the only way to walk is to waddle"

Kate was NOT expecting to get such a detail description of the woman's physical condition…and she suddenly feels something flash up inside her. Worry about what a baby will do to her body. Her body that she has taken very good care of that might not return to where she is today

Sounding almost like an emergency alarm, Sara Green and Brett Edwards walk into the room. Sara speaks first "Kate, Rick" she waves her hand "hi"

Kate glances up "Hey you two"

Robin speaks to the group "I will leave all of you to your meal" she turns and just like her description of herself, she waddles off giving Kate a full view of the need for a 'Wide Load' sign she mentioned previously

Beckett's thoughts are pulled down when she realizes that Sara is trying to talk to them

"Kate…Kate…are you with us here?" Sara waves her hand in front of the brunette

Snapping out "Oh Sorry, Sara. I was thinking about something. What were you asking?"

"The couple that was coming to be Brett's best man and my matron of honor got stuck at the airport lock down in Seattle due to the storm. Then their flight got cancelled. They won't be here in time for the wedding"

Brett finishes the thought "We are wondering if you two would stand up for us tomorrow night?"

Rick smiles at the other couple "We would be honored to help in whatever way we can…right Kate" he looks over at his wife

She seems to have something else on her mind.

All she is seeing right now in her mind is the woman who just walked out and she sees herself pregnant, with swollen ankles, a giant belly, a large rear end and boobs larger than Joy Mason's

"KATE?" finally says more sternly

She looks at her husband "WHAT?"

* * *

 **UM! Can she bear to see herself in that condition?**  
 **We will have to see**


	4. Chapter 4

Sara and Brett start out by discussing the fact that there is not going to be a bachelor party or bachelorette party happening tonight even if the original best man and matron of honor had set one up. It was not going to be happening! Kate tells Sara that she will keep her husband under control so he will not go off the rails and do something totally inappropriate. That comment causes every one, except Rick, to laugh

They then cover the order of the ceremony, the vows and the rings that Rick and Kate will be carrying for the bride and groom. When they will pass them over and do all the things that a best man and matron of honor would do

After discussing the ceremony itself and all the other events pertaining to the wedding, the attire planned for the wedding finally comes up for conversation. It has been agreed to that Kate can wear a different dress than the one Sara had planned for her matron of honor, especially since the dress is in Washington with the original attendant. Castle tells Sara that he and Beckett will deal with the issue

Kate had not packed a dress suitable for her to wear as a part of the bridal party so it is agreed that Rick and Kate will go into town and try to pick up something for the occasion that will: one be appropriate and, two suitable for her to wear at some time in the future

After they finish their discussion Castle goes to the hotel registration desk to check to see if there is an appropriate dress shop where they can get an outfit for Kate to wear to the wedding

The lodge may not be a five star hotel with concierge service but the staff are very well versed on the accommodations available in the village. The hotel staff advise Castle that there is a shuttle that can take them into town and the hotel manager tells them there is a very nice store for them to make a dress selection for the wedding

Castle thanks the staff and goes and gets Beckett and they walk outside to the courtesy SUV and the driver waiting for them

The trip to town takes over thirty minutes since the resort goes high up the side of the mountain and the road winds back and forth hugging the hill sides making for a long but careful trip. Castle is thinking how this would not be a very safe road to travel during a blinding snowstorm or blizzard. They are both very happy that this is not the case today

Once they are dropped off in the village main street, Rick and Kate walk down the quant street just enjoying the small stores and tourist shops.

Naturally, Castle wants to go in every shop and he does try to buy something in every one of them they enter. Kate finally has to drag him out of the last store so they can get her a dress and return to the lodge before the day is over.

When they locate the dress store that they were told about, the two begin the search for a nice dress for her. The place has so many lovely outfits and Castle is trying to get Kate to buy more than she needs.

After looking for several minutes they finally select a few for her to try on. Not too short. Not too low cut. Not too sexy so all the eyes at the wedding will still be on Sara and not looking at Kate instead.

Of course, Castle will not be looking at anyone else except Kate, so for him it doesn't matter what she buys.

He had told her once that he found her dressed in a floor length flannel sleep shirt sexy, so whatever she wears to the wedding he will want to remove it from her sooner rather than later anyway

Kate takes several dresses into the dressing room and begins her review of each one.

Castle does not realize that his wife is looking at these dresses and not with rose colored glasses. Her current view of herself is mixed. Included in that fear is that very soon, Castle will not find her sexy anymore.

As she holds up each dress, she sees them being super sexy and made for a slim sultry woman and not a fat pregnant wife. She is fighting feelings about what she is planning to do with her husband now. No matter how hard she tries to fight the feeling it just keeps rising to the top of her emotions

Beckett tries on several items and each time she does, she takes them back off immediately and places them back on the hanger then moves to the next one. She repeats this for each and every gown she brought in to try on.

After each dress is returned to its respective hanger she takes the next and the next until none are left to try on.

Finally, after several minutes and becoming worried, Castle calls into the dressing area "Kate, are you OK in there?"

"I'm fine" she responds but he can tell from her tone there is trouble in her voice "I just don't know about any of these dresses"

"Kate. Can I come in?" Rick knows that Kate is the only women in the dressing rooms at this moment

"No Castle. This is the women's rooms and you can't…" her comment is stopped when her husband steps up to the door and opens it. He finds his wife standing in her underwear and looking at herself in the mirror

Rick almost chokes then finally completes his thoughts "Kate. What is happening? The dresses you selected to try on are all beautiful and any one would be perfect for you to wear"

"I don't' know…Castle I just…I don't know. I can't decide on one"

"Castel takes all the dresses she brought in the room with her "OK then. Since you can't decide on one, we will take them all"

Kate grabs Castle's arm "No Rick don't!"

"You said you can't decide on just one, I said I will buy them all"

She is still holding onto his arm "OK! Stop. Please."

He stops pulling away from her and looks into her green eyes "Alright. But only if you tell me what is happening with you"

She leans her head on his shoulder "I got scared"

"You were frightened by a dress?"

He feels her soft shake as she finds what he said funny "No silly. As I was looking at myself in the mirror, I thought that this would be the only time I get to wear the dress"

He pulls he back a little and smiles to her "You will have more chances to wear this dress" he points in the direction of the hanging items "after we get home. I mean there will be parties, fund raisers, and book releases or…"

"That is not what I mean"

"Then what are you talking about?"

She glances down then back up to his face "These dresses are all form fitting. VERY form fitting…"

"I know and I want to see one of them on that smokin' hot body of yours"

"Castle! That's the problem. If I get pregnant, my body will change so much and I won't be able to wear this ever again"

"Kate, are you changing your mind about having a baby?"

"NO! NO please I want this. I am wanting a baby…but a baby will change me so much"

"While you are pregnant there will be changes"

"Yeah and I have always been so determined to exercise and keep my body in good shape…"

Rick has a look of glee on his face "Yes it is in very good shape. I will attest to that" he is holding her tightly

"Then I will have a big butt and huge boobs…"

"Oh. You mean like Joy Mason?" He decides a good prodding is in order

That comment does make her smile at him

"Kate, where is this coming from?"

She looks back down and actually mumbles some "Robin…the owner of the hotel"

"You mean the woman we met earlier? The pregnant woman?"

She nods her head "She was talking about all the things that were happening to her body and she was accurate in describing the big rear and front and…"

"Kate! Kate!" he stopes her rant "Did you see the photo in the lobby of her and her husband?"

"No"

"The picture was of her and him AND two children. One was probably two and the other about one"

"OK?" she responds

"And in the photo she is wearing a form fitting, figure flattering dress"

He can tell Kate is listening very intently "She looked great. Kate, I promise you will return to the slim, sexy self you are. So please don't worry about the pregnancy. You are healthy. And healthy women's bodies recover quickly from the effects of motherhood"

She looks into his eyes "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Kate. We are entering a new adventure…together"

"New for me. You have done this before"

"Not really. This is new for me too. Meredith would not let me in, so I was not part of the experience. I want to be part of this experience…WITH you"

"So…you're saying this is going to be great?" she is smiling now

"We are going to be great"

She glances back down at her chest then back to his face "So if my boobs do grow to the size of Joy Mason's, do you hope that I will keep them or not?"

* * *

 **If the most important question she asks is "Should I keep them or not?"**  
 **I think she will be OK**


	5. Chapter 5

After finally making her selection of a very elegant dress that can be worn two different ways, Rick and Kate are heading to a coffee shop across the street to wait for the hotel shuttle to come back and pick them up

Castle orders their drinks and Kate finds a quiet table away from the door for them to wait.

After Rick places his order he then moves back to the table with his wife. As they are waiting for the order to be filled they are looking at the television above the counter. It is tuned to a local station where a newscast is currently in progress. The banner headline crawling below the reporter is describing a winter storm heading their way.

"Looks like we may be in for a little winter weather while we're here" Kate comments just as the barista announces their coffees are ready

Rick claims the cups from the counter then returns to sit beside his wife.

They move their attention back to the television where the TV report continues to describe an incoming storm with predictions of very heavy snowfall beginning later in the night and continuing for the next couple of days.

The local weather reporter then appears on the screen with detailed description of the size and force of the approaching changer in the weather

After the storm report is completed Castle smiles to his wife and reaches out to take her hands "It looks like we might get snowbound here for a few days"

"It does look that way" she responds as she squeezes his fingers into hers

"You know if that happens we will need to find something to occupy our time. You know an activity to help pass the hours trapped in our room for several days" he begins

Her million watt smile covers her face "Yeah. You know we could read"

"We could watch TV" he continues

She finishes "we could get something to eat" and leans across the table to kiss him

"We could do that" she finishes her comment just as he kisses her

When they pull back from the kiss Castle sees that the hotel SUV is pulling up in front of the coffee shop

He pulls her hands gently "Time to go" they both stand taking their unfinished drinks and he takes the dress. She picks up the bags containing his other tourist purchases and he made and the two go to the get into the ride waiting outside

Once settled in the back seat, Kate leans into her husband and whispers "Is having a baby what we need?"

"Do you WANT a baby?"

He feels her head nod

"Then having a baby IS what we need"

"Are you excited?" she slides her hand up his arm

"Yes. Very much excited to have a baby WITH you Kate"

She almost whispers into him "Me too"

He feels her snuggle into his side even more where she remains unmoving for the rest of the trip back to the lodge

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

In New York, at the 12th precinct two detectives are working over fresh reports relating to their current open case files.

Just after Castle and Beckett left for their trip to Colorado a case came in from midtown and

Detectives Ryan and Esposito head to the crime scene where it appears to be a home invasion gone wrong.

When they arrive, they find Lanie standing over the body with a clip board in her hand making notes.

Two men walk into the room "Hey Lanie, what do we have?" Kevin Ryan is asking before even coming completely into the apartment

"Meet Mr. Joshua Clements. Recently arrived in his apartment"

Esposito asks the question "As in just came home from work?"

"No. Just moved in yesterday. It looks like he finished unpacking, the boxes are folded beside the door ready to take to the trash chute" Lanie points to a neat stack of folded cardboard beside the entry

"You sure he was moving in and not getting ready to move out?" Ryan asks

"I got that information from the super. He said that Mr. Clements moved in two days ago and had just come down and asked what to do with the trash. The super told him about the trash pickup. It was only about three hours later the super came to check on his new resident when he found the body"

"So we have a very tight time window for the murder. Does the building have security cameras?"

Ryan answers "No. Not here but uniforms are checking with other businesses nearby"

"Let's go talk to the super and see what else we can find out about our victim" Esposito states

The two detectives go to the first floor looking for the building manager. They find him in the lobby working on the building directory

"Excuse me…Detective Ryan and I am detective Esposito. Can we ask a few questions about the murder victim?"

The superintendent stops in his task "Sure. The name's Wally, what do you need to know?"

"Out victim…what do you know about him? Has there been any problems with him? Anyone looking for him?"

"No. He just came here two days ago. He is new to the city. He moved here from Oklahoma. He said he just finished school and was offered a job at one of the cities accounting firms. He asked me about places to eat. Buy groceries and even dry cleaners. I can't'' imagine anyone being after him"

Ryan is taking notes as Espo is asking the questions when Javi notices the directory that the super is working on does not have the victim's name on the list"

"What is the name of the previous occupant" he points to the board

The superintendent laughs a little. The man that was living here gave me a false name but I put it on the board anyway" The super points at the apartment number and beside that is the name listed as 'Barney Fife'

"Are you kidding me?" Ryan asks with a chuckle in his voice

"That's the name"

"How long has he been gone?" Ryan then askes

"That is a good question. He moved in a couple of years ago. He paid for a full year in advance, in cash, then paid another year, again in cash"

"When did he move out?"

"I have no idea. Before the lease ran out, I went and checked on him and found the apartment empty. It looked like it had been vacant for a long time"

"How long ago was that?"

"Three months, I think. So when the payments ran out I leased it to the new tenant"

Ryan and Esposito step away from the manager and Ryan speaks first "I wonder if the other man might be the intended victim?"

"Probably not. He has been gone for too long" Then Esposito turns back to the super "Hey Wally, has anyone been looking for Barney Fife?"

"Well, now that you mention it two guys came by about two hours ago looking for him"

"So you don't know where he is?"

"No. They just asked if I knew where he worked. I gave them that information and they left"

"Can you describe them?"

"Yeah. Tall, business suits. Well dressed"

"Where did you tell them Barney worked?"

"He worked at the Sweet Temptations Pastry shop over on 47th"

"Thanks" Ryan comments as he and Esposito walk out the door and head top their cruiser

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Kate has spent a little extra time getting ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Making sure to get her hair just right. Applying the exact amount of makeup needed. Perfect eye shadow to compliment her dress.

When she is satisfied with her own appearance, she finally notices the man standing behind her with a smile from ear to ear

She turns around and walks toward her husband "Do I look OK?"

"Kate…I don't have words to use to tell you how amazing you look"

"I thought you were a world famous writer"

"I am…and that's what makes you extraordinary. You leave me without words"

She feels her face getting warm

He pulls her to his chest "I wish we had a little more time"

"Me too, but this time, we cannot be late. They can't start without us"

"Sure they can. They just need the bride and groom and preacher"

She puts her hand on his chest "The bride cannot walk the aisle during rehearsal. Bad luck, you know. So I have to be a stand in for her"

"Oh this is good. You get to walk down the aisle WITH the guy from school you had the hots for. And who was your first kiss"

"Are you jealous Castle?"

"Not as long as all your after wedding rehearsal activities are with me"

In her best sexy voice "You just wait until I get you back to this room"


	6. Chapter 6

**I guess it is time for someone to die**

* * *

For once Rick and Kate Castle are not arriving late to an event. Not because they wanted to be early but this time they actually arrive a few minutes ahead of the scheduled time to begin.

The next hour is spent with the wedding planner and the preacher blocking the wedding party. They set up where each person will be on the stage. Each person is individually places so that the bride can have a perfect photographic memory of her nuptials.

Castle smiles as he thinks that his mother would have been a perfect person to direct this event. Martha Rogers feels so at home setting up marks and stage direction and blocking the event. But tonight it is up to a well versed wedding planner to take the helm to make this event perfect for Sara and Brett

As Kate had told her husband, she was the stand-in for the bride as placements were made and every person is directed to exactly where they should stand. Then Kate walks down the aisle to meet Sara's future husband to set up the staging

After the bride is satisfied with how tomorrow night will be presented the group move into the private dining room for the rehearsal dinner. Rick and Kate are placed at the head table beside the bride and groom. The others in the wedding party are seated at the adjacent tables.

After they are seated, Kate leans into her husband "you know you are expected to offer a toast for the couple"

Rick nods his head "I know. I can say a lot about Sara but I will have to leave any comments about the history between the groom and my wife to you, the one person here that knows him intimately"

"I do not know him that way. Kisses don't count as…" she seems to be bothered by the comment

He slides his arm around his wife. "Kate…Kate. I am just kidding you. I know all about your past with him. But we could still have fun with that"

"That might not be a very good idea. You know Sara may not feel that this would be as funny as you do"

"Oh, yeah. OK"

She brings her eyes up at Rick with a look of evil; glee "But I really don't know much about you and Sara. She seemed very interested in connecting that day in the Hamptons when she came by with that bottle of Champaign"

"OK. Truce" he pulls her a little tighter

"Truce" she smiles back to her husband

Castle reaches to the champaign bottle to pour himself and Kate a glass of bubbly. She takes his hand before he can pour her glass

"Babe, just in case…"

He looks at her in wonder

"I don't want to take any chances…so just water for me"

He understands her thinking then he places the bottle back on the table. He then picks up the water pitcher and fills her glass instead.

When the time comes Castle stands up to the small group of family and friends around the tables "I want to offer a toast to a very nice couple" He raises his flute "To Sara and Brett. Two people who share some common background and have a common ground to build up a life together"

The raised glasses of the other guests clink together in acknowledgement of Rick's toast

After the meal is finished the wedding party begins to break up to return to their respective rooms, Castle has taken Beckett along with him from the dining room and into the lounge. This room parallels a long row of windows opened to the beautiful scenery outside

The room is just inside the balcony overlooking the rear of the lodge and down the mountain to the valley below.

When Rick and Kate stop at the long glass wall they can see for miles and are witness the snow fall that now seems to becoming more and more heavy now

"I guess the promised winter storm has arrived" Castle comments "and is falling fairly heavy at the moment"

Rick stands behind his wife with his arms wrapped around her keeping her warm. He can feel how relaxed the soft woman beside has become and he can sense she is enjoying the moment

"More magic?" Kate says softly

"Yes you are" he whispers in her ear

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The call comes in from forensics first thing in the morning.

"We have results on the fingerprints from the apartment" Esposito tells his partner just as he hangs up the telephone. "They are e-mailing them over now"

The two detectives continue in their investigation until the chime comes from the computer speaker announcing the arrival of the message form the crime lab.

Esposito opens the message and begins to read the summary when his eyes pope open "Hey Kev! Look at this" he points to the detail report

"What? How is that possible? The apartment should only have prints of the current resident, our victim, and the prior occupant. How could there be that many fingerprints of someone who has been dead for several years?"

The Hispanic detective responds "It can't be, except the person is not really dead"

"Right. So who is this guy?"

"According to the file he has been dead for several years. He was killed in a boating accident out on Long island"

"What is or was his name?" Ryan asks

Esposito looks at the computer screen "uh…Kirk Green"

Ryan continues "Let's take the picture to the apartment building and show the super and see if he recognizes him"

The two detectives stand and head for the elevator

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The bed is much too comfortable and, not to mention, warm. Kate Beckett-Castle finds herself not wanting to get up this morning but the light that is trying to edge its way into the room and invade her sleep is getting much too bright to ignore for very much longer

The man beside her is also beginning to move as he pulls her closer. His is warm and she likes warm and he obviously does not wish to get up either

"Good morning babe" she moves her head so he can reach her neck and she likes the attention he is paying to her neck. As he begins his work on that special spot just behind her ear the phone in the room rings

She puts out a verbal groan then reaches out

"Don't answer it" he says just as her arm begins to exit the warmth of the bed toward the irritating instrument on the table

"Hello" Kate answers then pauses

"This is she"

"Say that again?"

"OK. Castle and I will get dressed and be right down"

"What is it?" Rick asks

"There has been a murder. One of the staff has been found murdered"

"Why don't they just call the local police?"

"They said the roads are closed. The storm came in overnight and the local PD can't get up here until the snow plows can get up here and they said it might be a couple of days. There is another wave of snow almost here"

Rick brings up the obvious question "Are you saying we are trapped…in this hotel? With a murderer?"

"It would seem so, yes"

Beckett has pulled the covers off and is standing up to go get dressed with Castle close behind

Once the pair make their way to the lobby of the lodge they find the hotel owner, Robin Blankenship waiting for them

Robin seems to be in a panic "I understand you are a homicide detective, Kate"

"Yes, back in New York. I have no authority here"

"I understand that, Mrs. Castle, but the local police chief asked if we could secure the scene until they arrive. I told them you were here for the wedding. He wanted to know if you would take charge of the crime scene and make sure the evidence was protected"

"I can do that, but I need to speak to the local chief first"

"Certainly" Robin responds "let me get him on the phone" and she dials the number, handing the phone to Beckett when the chief answers

After a brief conversation with the local authority, Kate hangs up the call and turns back to her husband "he deputized me so I can start the investigation"

"So, Kate…for you and me it's 'Business As Usual'?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Walking into the front entrance of the apartment building where the body was found detectives Ryan and Esposito are bringing the photograph of the man whose fingerprints were found in the unit

"Hey Wally" Ryan speaks to the superintendent as they step up "we have a photograph for you to identify"

The building manager takes the image and only looks for a second "Yup. That's him. That's Barney Fife or the guy who called himself by that name"

Esposito asks the question "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely" is the reply

"Thank you, Wally" the two men walk back put the front door to their cruiser

"This is very odd" Esposito states

Ryan continues "Yeah. Very odd. A man that has been declared dead has been living in that apartment almost from that time"

"What's even more strange is he lived next door to Castle"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Castle and Beckett have been taken to the employee housing section of the lodge and into the corridor leading to the apartment of the maintance man.

While they are walking down the corridor, Beckett is asking about who discovered the body…exactly what time did that happen…when he was last seen alive…and finally if the door was locked or open or if it had been broken into

The answers she receives are Todd Graham, the hotel's driver

It was at 7:15 AM when he didn't answer the phone when he had not shown up for work

He was last seen alive at 7:00 PM the night before in the employee dining room

The door was standing open and had not been damaged

When Beckett and Castle arrive, they make note that the room does not seem tossed. Everything seems to be on place. If something was taken they have no clue as to what it might be

After doing due diligence in observing the room and any evidence that might be found, the husband and wife crime fighters focus on the body.

This is when Castle makes a startling discovery

He looks very closely at the body on the floor

"Kate. I know this man"

"You do? Who is it?"

"Green. This is Kirk Green"

Kate spins toward her husband "Are you talking about the Kirk Green, Sara Green's husband that is supposed to be dead?"

"Killed in a boating accident a couple of years ago/ Yeah!"

.


	7. Chapter 7

"Castle!" Beckett points to the victim "This is Kirk Green, your former neighbor? Are you sure?"

"Positive. I have been on his boat many times. I spent a lot of time on his boat. We went out fishing or sailed all day with a boat full of bikini clad women…UR…uh…" he looks at his wife who is giving him a death glare "or. I might stop talking now"

Kate turns her head away from him and even though she wants to laugh out loud, she manages to at least look jealous "I think that is a really good idea at the moment"

She sweeps her eyes around the room for a few seconds "So…how does your dead neighbor end up dead again in Colorado…in a remote mountain side resort lodge…on his wife's wedding day?"

"That is a very good question" Castle responds as he also is looking around for clues "And who would want to kill him?"

Beckett looks at her husband "Are you serious? Let's start with Sara. His wife who is planning on getting married today. She might want to get rid of the current husband before committing bigamy or the future husband, who is planning to marry the grieving widow. Is that enough for starters?"

"A good point"

"Or who else might want to do it. Say someone else. Such as someone in New York. Someone from his past who would want to do it? Maybe not from New York but from Long Island or even better, who from here, would want to kill him?" Kate asks

"Would it be from his new life here or from his old life there?"

"Castle" she almost lets out a groan "let's look around carefully. There has to be something here giving us some clue as to who wanted him dead and why"

"I hope so" Castle has placed his hands into his pockets. Since they do not have any sort of gloves to wear to prevent evidence contaminations

Just at that moment, Castle's cell phone rings. He carefully takes it out of his pocket and looks at the caller ID

"It's Ryan" Castle comments

Rick punches the answer and speaker button "Hey Ryan. I got you on speaker"

The voice of the Irish detective comes across the phone "Hey. Guess what?" but before anyone even has time to respond, Kevin continues "We were following up on a murder case here in the city when we had a hit on a set of fingerprints from a former neighbor of yours who is supposed to be dead"

As Ryan is speaking Rick is looking at Kate then Castle speaks out loud interrupting Ryan "Kirk Green?"

"UH…Yeah Castle. How did you know?"

Kate makes the next statement "We are looking at his body"

"What do you mean, looking at his body? In Colorado?"

Beckett gives the answer "We are in his room at the lodge where the wedding is taking place and he is, or rather WAS an employee here"

Ryan then asks the question "What? You two are there to attend the wedding of the widow when the ex-husband is found dead?"

Kate comments next "Yeah, Sara Green is or was getting married because she was a widow but now it seems she is still married, I mean since her late husband is no longer the 'late'"

They hear Ryan over the phone comment "But he is dead now? Right?"

Castle gets a strange look on his face "Why do they call a deceased person 'the late?' Because if you invite them to go somewhere, they will be late?"

Kate gives her husband the death glare

"OK got it" he sheepishly comments

About that time they hear the owner of the resort, Robin Blankenship, coming down the hall "Mr. Castle, Mrs. Castle…are you down here?"

Kate responds "Yes, but please do not come in the room. We are trying to keep the crime scene free of contamination"

"Is it true? Carl is dead?"

"Who is Carl?" Castle asks

"Carl Riley. He is my maitaince man. Does repairs"

"Robin, do you have a file on Carl? An employment application. Emergency contact information? Things like that?

"Yes. I am sure we do"

Kate continues "will you get the file for us? We will come get it later"

"OK. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

"Do you know if anyone has rubber gloves of any kind?" Kate asks

"Yes, the chef in the kitchen. He uses them for food pre. Sanitation purposes you know. I can get you several pair if you need them"

"Yes please" Beckett responds "That will be very helpful"

"I will get them for you and be right back" and the sound of her boots clicking as she turns moves away from the room

Returning her attention to the phone call from her partner in New York "Ryan, what can you tell me about the case there?"

"Our victim is Joshua Clements, He was found dead in the apartment. When we checked his history we found out he just moved here to the city a few days before. He moved into the empty apartment, but when we checked fingerprints, Castle's neighbor's prints were all over the apartment. When we showed Green's picture to the super who confirmed he was the previous occupant"

"Did you find out how long he was living there? Beckett questions

"Yeah, he had lived there over two years"

Castle looks at his wife "That is close to the time of his reported death"

"What about that Castle?" Kate asks "I thought he was killed on the boat?"

"He went out on the boat one Friday evening but when he had not returned by Sunday, they called the Coast guard who sent out search boats. The located his boat adrift around the point of the island"

"Did they not identify his body?" Kate asks

"His body was never found, but there was a lot of blood found on the deck and on the boom. They assumed he probably slipped or was hit by the boom and he went overboard. There was so much blood that whoever lost that much could not make it. It was his blood type and no one thought to check DNA. The coroner ruled on it. He declared Kirk dead and the body missing at sea. We had a memorial service and everything"

"Yeah and a grieving widow interested in my guy?" Kate comments as she walks around the end of the bed

"Hey you" Castle stops Beckett by taking her arm as she passes him "First, we were not together and second she never showed interest in me until later…much later"

She looks at her husband and speaks softly "I know…just trying to keep the blood pumping until I can do something else to cause your blood pressure to rise" then she almost whispers "along with other things"

Castle lets out a gasp trying to keep his mind on the case in front of them.

At this time there is the sound of a woman's shoes clicking on the floor moving toward the room. They are not the sound of the owner of the inn, but definitely female in the cadence. A sultry female voice is heard speaking as she approaches "Carl…are you decent? I hope not because if you are, then I will just have to take…"

The sentence falls incomplete as Beckett steps out of the room followed by her husband

The unknown woman angrily comments looking at Kate "Who are you?"

"Detective Katherine Beckett…who are you?"

"Lillian" the woman answers "Uh…Detective? Where's Carl?"

Castle asks the next question "How do you know Carl?"

"We are…Uh…I am…I run the spa here at the hotel and Carl…Mr. Riley had an appointment this morning and didn't show up and I thought I would come and check on him"

"Appointment at the hotel spa?" Beckett questions using her best homicide voice

"An employee had an appointment? I thought only guests were given appointments?"

"Well, he had…uh…pulled a muscle working and I thought it would help him if I gave him a massage"

Being a little sarcastic Kate comments "I am sure. How long have you and Mr. Riley? Been…together?"

The woman is obviously embarrassed "we have been…dating for about a month. What is going on? Is he alright?"

"No. I am sorry to have to tell you but Carl…Mr. Riley has been murdered"

All the color immediately fades from the woman's face and her knees buckle and she slides to the floor

Kate moves beside the woman and sits down next to her "I am sorry, but I do need to ask some questions"

The woman nods her head

"Tell me about the two of you"

"He started earlier this year. At first our paths never crossed then about 3 six months ago we became friends. Then we just…connected. There was this magic and we couldn't fight it. Everything quickly built up until…well you know how it is with co-workers. Some time they just have magic. We felt it immediately but the boss discourages this. So we tried to keep it a secret from them"

"OK. So this morning was a booty call?" Castle asks

"No" she answers thru sniffles "He was supposed tom come to the spa for a real massage. He really did pull his back taking down some light fixture"

Kate has now put on her best counseling voice "Lillian, was he having trouble with anyone? Or did he seem nervous or frightened?"

Rick and Kate can see her face change

"Yeah…he did. When the last load of guests arrived he seemed scared about something. When the SUV pulled-in and the guests started getting out he couldn't seem to get away from, the lobby fast enough. That is when he hurt his back"

"When was that?" Castle asks

"The day you two came. We had several loads arrive. Mostly for a wedding party I think"


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the delay in updating. I have been caught up in my other story.**  
 **Thanks for waiting for an update**

* * *

The detective inside Katherine Beckett immediately comes to the forefront and the job takes over

"Was it when the van we were in arrived in that he reacted?" Beckett questions

Lillian looks at Beckett "What time did you come in?"

Rick answers "Our group arrived here about noon"

"No. It was a later trip. I think it was about three in the afternoon"

Kate looks at her husband "Isn't that when Sara and Brett came in with his family and the others…"

Castle finished the statement "the other guests from the Hamptons"

Kate looks back to Lillian "Was there anything else happening earlier that day or early in the week?"

"He was not having anything going on until the other day…he uh…he seemed to get upset when that last load of guests arrived. He suddenly seemed scared about something. When the SUV pulled-in and the guests started getting out he couldn't seem to get away from, the lobby fast enough. That is when he hurt his back. He slipped off the ladder and rushed out of the lobby and down the hall. When I caught up with him, he said that he had hurt his back. That is when I told him I could help it out with a little massage"

"Can you think of anything else that would explain what is happening or was he having any other issues with guests or employees here at the hotel?"

The woman seems to pause as if trying to think of anything

"No…I don't think so. I can't think of anything that might be happening"

"OK. We will need to talk some more later" Beckett comments "You can go…and again I am sorry about your loss"

The dejected woman moves back down the hall toward the main lobby

"Beckett. It looks like someone in that last load of passengers spooked him. I wonder of his killer is in that group" Rick tells his wife

"We need to get a list of passengers on that bus and see who it might be that got him so riled…and don't forget your girlfriend is the widow of the murder victim"

"Funny Kate! But you know what? The very fact she was on the bus might have been the key to his actions. He probably did not know she was coming here. It might just be a coincidence"

"True" Beckett responds as she turns to look around the room one more time

After securing the room by locking the door and placing a makeshift security tape over the door jam, Castle and Beckett are moving back toward the main level of the hotel

Castle whispers just under his breath to his wife "You know a nice full body massage does sound good…doesn't it?"

Smiling back "You have a one track mind, Castle!"

"Only when it comes to my wife"

She never turns her head but he can see a smile when she whispers softly "later"

Once they arrive back to the main area of the hotel, they ask for an office or small room to use for them to do their notes and to interview anyone that might be a witness or a suspect.

Once they set up in the room, Beckett contacts the local police chief to give him the information they have gathered. The officer seems honestly pleased with the level of detail that Kate has provided and in her opinion of the facts of the case

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Detectives Ryan and Esposito are pulled between the possibilities that the murdered man was simply just in the wrong place at the wrong time

"If out victim was just moving in and knew no one else in the city, then he is probably not the intended target" Ryan considers

"Looking at all the facts, it would appear that is the situation" Esposito closes the file in front of him "We need to let Beckett know that there is a killer from here in play"

As he picks up his phone to dial Beckett's cell Ryan's desk phone rings. Esposito waits for the call to finish and is glad he did when Kevin gives him the information he just received

/\/\/\/\/\/\

There is a knock on the door of the office where Kate and Rick are working. "Come in" Rick responds looking toward the entry

When the door opens, they see the bride to be on the other side with tears in her eyes

"Come in Sara" Beckett says

Castle stands as the women enters

Through her tears Sara ask the question "Is it true? Is my husband…? My former husband…? My dead husband the man that was found…dead? Is it true?"

"Yes, I am afraid it is true "Beckett responds "Sara, we need to ask some tough questions about what happened…I mean what happened in The Hamptons. When your...? When Kirk was killed. What happened back then?"

Castle indicates for her to sit down at the table between him and Beckett. She slowly lowers herself into the chair "I…uh…he had gone out fishing, he told me and when he didn't come home by the next day, I called the Coast Guard. They sent out a search vessel"

"They found him or rather his body?" Beckett asks

"No not right away. It was uh…" she seems to try to remember "it was two days. They found the boat adrift. The sails were torn. They said it looked like he was trying to raise the main sail and a wind caught the boom. It swung around. They found blood and scalp tissue on the boom"

Always being the detective, Beckett asks the obvious "didn't they test the tissue for DNA?"

She again seems to be thinking about the answer "No. They only did a blood test and determined it was his blood type and never went any further I guess"

"So it could have been anyone's blood that matched the type?" Castle comments toward his wife

She nods her head in agreement. She then looks at Sara "Tell me the truth. Did you know he was still alive?"

"NO!" she replies emphatically "I thought he was dead' There is a pause while she seems to try to come up with what she wants to say "He was my high school sweetheart" she looks at Castle "Rick, I came after you, remember? I would not have done that if I actually thought Kirk was still alive. I loved him"

This little comment about going after Castle reminds Kate about a barely dressed woman standing on Castle's porch holding a bottle of wine and looking at Rick like he was fair game

"OK Sara, say I believe you. Why would Kirk have faked his own death and moved to a small hotel in Colorado?"

Castle and Beckett can see a flash of red cross her face

"Sara, what is happening? What are you not telling us?"

She stands and walks around the table. She finally stops and turns back to the pair "You remember when you discovered the secret about the boat? The hidden compartment for body dumping?"

Beckett responds "Yeah"

"About a month after he died,…or rather vanished, I was looking thru some paperwork and found a envelope filled with money. A lot of cash"

"How much cash?" Castle asks

"Twenty-five thousand dollars"

Beckett questions "Do you know where it came from?"

"No, but I also found a note that said something about finishing what he was paid to do"

"Do you have any idea what that meant?" Beckett also asks

"No, but it was dated a few days before he went out on the boat and then vanished"

Castle continues his line of questions "Sara, did you know that he was dumping bodies for the mob?"

"NO!" she is emphatic in her answer "I would have never gone along with something like that"

Kate looks at Rick then back to Sara "So, they never found his body?"

"No, after several days the Coast Guard called off the search. They said he probably was struck in the head by the boom, went overboard, and the body carried out to sea or…" she trails off not wanting to mention the possibility that he was eaten by sharks

Seeing that she seems truly emotionally hurt by this Beckett tells her to go ahead and go back to her room.

After she leaves the room Kate looks at her husband "If she is telling the truth that was hard on her"

"I was not in the Hamptons during that time, so I did not know the details"

"But you heard later?"

"Yeah, then I know Sara sold the boat fairly quickly. I assumed she did not want to have it around as a bad memory"

The two sit quietly looking over their notes when Castle looks up and as if she reads his mind speaks "WHAT?"

"What if Brett did it?"

She has a larges question on her face "Brett? Why would he kill Kirk?"

"He is getting ready to marry Sara and having her husband now alive would be a problem"

"Brett did not know Kirk so how would he know?"

"I am sure Sara has shown pictures to Brett, or he saw the photos at her house. If he figures that she might be meeting up with her old husband here then…"

"OK Castle, I get it. But I really do not think that Brett would murder Kirk? He did not even know the man"

"The new girlfriend said that he became nervous when the bus arrived with Sara and Brett on board. He must have seen them and knew that he was going to be found out. He confronted Brett. Told him he was going to get his old wife back and was murdered"

"I just think that is a stretch" Kate responds

"Fine" Rick comments just as Beckett's phone rings. Caller ID is '12th precinct'

"Beckett" she listens for several seconds "Really?" she looks at her husband "If you get more information, let us know…thanks Ryan"

"The guys cannot find any reason for our victim to be murdered but they did find a connection that might be a reason for Kirk to be the intended target"

"Yeah What?"

The ballistics on the bullet. It matches ballistics from several of the bodies they found on the island off the coast of Long Island"

"The island that Kirk was dumping bodies for the Irish mob"

Rick looks at his wife who is almost laughing


	9. Chapter 9

"So we have a man murdered in New York and the weapon is the same one used to kill several others many years in the past" Castle remarks

"And the current investigations are still ongoing. They are locating more and more bodies every day. The crimes seem to be pointing at the Irish mob and Paddy O'Rourke" Kate adds

"Paddy O'Rourke?" There is question in Castle's voice "Where do I remember that name from?"

"The two who were killed on the boat when you and I were in the Hamptons for the first time?" Beckett states to remind Castle "Edie Dorsey was one of the two murdered and she had worked for the law firm representing Paddy. The word was she had passed information to the Feds on him and his organization"

"That would normally mean a death sentence right away"

"Yeah it would but she was not feeding the feds anything"

"OK so there is definitely a connection to the body drops using the boat and Kirk Green, but do you think there is any other link to Edie Dorsey?"

"I am not sure, but let's go back and search Kirk's room again. Instead of leaving the search to the locals, we will look more closely this time and see what we find"

The two leave the makeshift interrogation office and go back to the victim's room to look deeper into the victim's life.

Unlike in times past, the two are alone in their search. No other officers. No crime scene investigators. No medical examiner. Just the two of them looking for any clues that might help them investigate the real death of Kirk Green, AKA. Carl Riley

Kate starts in the side table next to the bed then moves to the bed itself while her husband begins in the closet. It is only a few minutes later when Castle exits the storage space carrying a wooden box.

"Hey, Kate, look what I got"

Beckett looks at the container her husband had brought out "What did you find?"

"It looks like some keepsake box"

He places it on the bed and opens the top. When he does an entire history of one man is exposed. The box contains several false driver's licenses from different states, each with a different name attached, three passports. Again with fake names and finally dozens of photographs.

Rick and Kate start looking through the images. The first are of Kirk and Sara. He obviously kept these for sentimental reasons There are a few wedding photographs then several more casual non posed images. The pictures are obviously something he had kept to remind him of the life that he had left behind.

"Look here Rick" Kate starts scanning several of the newer images and they not pictures of Sara. It is a different woman

Castle takes the photos then comments "These are pictures of Edie Dorsey, the woman that was killed on Kirk's boat last year"

Beckett corrects her husband "That was Chad's boat at the time"

"Yeah…OH WOW!" Rick is obviously surprised by something in one of the pictures in his hand.

When Kate looks over his shoulder she sees why Castle was shocked. The next set of photos are of a topless woman lying on the deck. They are of the victim, Edie lying on the deck of the boat except she is totally nude now

"Maybe Kirk found pictures that Chad took and…" Beckett comments are cut off when one of the images Castle pulls out is a selfie of Edie topless lying next to Kirk

"That pretty much settles who was getting it on with whom" Kate comments

"I would say so" Castle is still holding the photo

Kate is glaring at her husband "Castle, you can stop looking at her boobs now"

"Right" he places the photos back into the box

"Rick, we need to take all this back to our room and get on the phone with the guys and maybe Chief Brady and try to sort all of this out"

"Agreed" Castle takes the box and places all the papers back inside and closes the top. He and Kate exit the room once more, making sure the heat is off so the room stays cold to preserve the body, and they start back to their room

Once back inside the privacy of their suite, Rick sets the box down on the table in the parlor and then removes his jacket and places it on the chair beside Kate's. He notices that she is not in the room but has gone into the bathroom and closed the door. He does not hear anything and after few minutes becomes concerned and calls into the room.

"Are you OK?"

A somewhat weak response comes back "Yeah, just a little shaky" We haven't had lunch yet"

"Let me go down and get us something, or I can call room service. Which would you like?"

"No. just go get me a sandwich" There is a pause as she thinks about what she wants "Not chicken this time. Make it a tuna fish with a dill pickle and have them put cream cheese on it instead of mayonnaise"

He gets a confused look on his face "Alright. Be right back" and he moves to the door then stops and turns back toward the bathroom door "will you be ok until I get back?"

He hears her answer in the affirmative. Rick opens the door then leaves the room

After the door closes Kate comes back out from the bathroom. She moves across the bedroom and into the living area then she sits on the couch and leans her head back on the headrest. She lets out a deep sigh. She is wondering why this case is affecting her so deeply but for some reason it is. Her emotions are on the edge. She suddenly finds herself wanting to cry for no reason. It probably has to do with not having a good breakfast this morning. She knows that when she gets a bite to eat she will feel better, however she needs to start digging more deeply into the victim's history. Especially the history that has happened since his fake disappearance

She moves to the table and starts by opening the box and removing all the documents with the plan to put items back inside, one by one as she reviews them for importance.

She starts by looking at each passport and driver's license. She notices the names on passports match the licenses. He seems to have had a plan to move on quickly, if and when he needed to

Sitting at the table, her mind starts to wander and she cannot seem to bring it back under control. For no reason, she finds herself especially in need of her husband's attention at this moment. Even though they have been very, very much active not just from the beginning of the marriage, but also on this trip, she suddenly craves some more attention from him and has decided that when he gets back to the room, the food may just have to wait….

For a few minutes, anyway

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

When Castle arrives at the dining room he is approaches by a tall dark haired man that he recognizes from the family portrait hanging in the lobby of the hotel "You must be the famous mystery writer, Richard Castle"

"The very same" Castle responds holding out his hand to shake

"I am the owner, Barry Blankenship. It is very nice to meet you. I have loved all your books, especially the Nikki Heat series" the man takes a firm grip on Rick's hand

"Well thank you Mr. Blankenship. I always enjoy meeting my fans"

"And I understand that your lovely wife is here with you?"

"Yes we are here for the wedding…the wedding that might have to be postponed"

"I heard about that. The victim is one of the hotel's employees?"

"Yes, your maintenance man"

"That is so terrible. So I believe your wife was your model for Nikki Heat?"

"Yes she was or rather still is. And she is why I am here, to get some lunch for her and me, so where do I place my order?"

"Let me get one of the staff to help you with that" and Barry turns to get the attention of one of the servers

The man steps away but Castle seems to have some questions in his mind at the moment. After placing his order and being delivered his food, Rick heads back down the corridor toward the elevator

When Rick opens the door to their suite he finds himself plastered against the door with his wife wrapped around him in an attempt to kiss him senseless

* * *

 **Sorry for the delay in this chapter.**  
 **1\. My computer crashed**  
 **2\. Had to do some tornado relief in my community**

 **Did anyone see the Easter Egg in this chapter?**


	10. Chapter 10

He is lying on his back with swirls of soft brown hair lying across his face tickling his nose. He does not care if his nose is being assaulted by her hair, especially since when they first met she started out by assaulting his nose in a different way. A way at the time that proved to be very painful

Her soft body against him from her chin softly nestled against his collar bone all the way to her bare toes flexing against his ankle. Everything about this creature beside him being a total turn on.

Seven years ago, if anyone had told Richard Castle that he would be able to find the woman of his dreams and she would be this complete in every possible way he would have just smirked and walked away.

He knew then that the perfect woman did not exist

A woman that was smart, attractive, and intelligent would be a lawyer and would probably have a job that he would have not found exciting. She would be a partner in a major law firm in the city. Make a pile of money defending sleaze bags or handling divorces for the rich and famous

On the other hand, a woman who was sultry and sexy would be window dressing for that law firm and would sit at the front desk and smile at the clients as they arrived.

But a more interesting person would be a tough as nails, hard core investigator and would be working on the streets digging up the dirt on the clients' spouses and taking pictures and not being very social in that task

So his perfect woman would have to be all of these rolled into one. But none of those exist or rather existed until he met HER.

And suddenly all his dreams came true and now she is his wife. She is brilliant in her crime solving skills. She is tough when she need to be with the suspects. She is so very attractive he is proud that she allows him to be seen with her

And WOW is she sultry and sexy. And she just used that part of her persona on him and he is trying to recover

And to bring everything to completeness, she is ready to have a child with him. His world is complete

Her toes are starting to glide across his foot indicating to him she is awake. He is not positive how she is even moving since she should be comatose after what she just did to him. He would swear that there was no possible way for either of them to be functional after this little bit of "Afternoon Delight"

"Hey, love" he whispers to her

She just curls a little closer and lets out a soft hum

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she answers

"I thought that doing what we just did could be dangerous"

She does not even raise her head "What do you mean?"

"I did not know it was possible to get into that position without hurting yourself"

"Oh, it's possible"

"Yes, I see that"

She gently hums again

"Hey, your sandwich is getting cold or rather since it was a cold sandwich, it is getting warm. You might want to go eat it before it turns bad"

"Uh…yeah, I should" and she rolls over to the side of the bed and sits up. She then tries to stand and collapses back on the bed "except my legs are a little wobbly at the moment"

"Not surprised" he comments as he reaches across to her and takes her hand "Are you really sure that you are alright?"

She smiles down at the linked fingers "Yeah. Why?"

"This was just intense. I mean way intense. Even for you…for us"

"I just had an urge to do that"

"Urge? Yeah I would say urge"

She pokes him on the arm "We need to get back to the case" she stands and on a pair of long legs that still seem a little weak and she stumbles into the bathroom

Castle stands up on his side of the bed and throws on a robe and moves back into the parlor area of their suite. He picks up the bag with her sandwich and his chicken salad salad and tells her to come to the kitchenette when she is ready.

After a few minutes, covered in a robe, she joins him at the table. The moment she sits down, she takes the chicken salad and opens it, takes his fork, and begins eating. Castle is sitting at the table almost ready to say something about her request for tuna and not chicken but decides to take her sandwich instead

After a few bites he finally speaks "I thought you wanted tuna and not chicken today"

She looks at him then down at her fork poised just outside her lips then he sees the realization cross her face "I did say that. Didn't I?"

He smiles at his wife

"Changed my mind" And she puts the bite in her mouth. This causes him to laugh a little

They finish their midday snack and get dressed to go back and resume their investigating.

Walking down the corridor, heading back to the main area of the hotel they are throwing theories around

Castle starts "What if Kirk tried to approach Sara and reconnect with her and Brett killed Kirk so he did not mess up the wedding"

"That is the worst idea I think my husband has ever thrown out" Kate reacts with a chuckle "Brett did not know Kirk and anyway Kirk hid when the bus arrived with Sara, Brett, and the rest of the wedding party so no one saw him"

"Well…maybe Sara tried to hook back up with Kirk and Brett found out or…"

"That is the same as your other idea"

"OH, yeah, I guess it is. Then Sara saw Kirk and knew he would mess up her wedding and she took him out"

"Sara killed her late husband so she could still marry Brett?"

"UM…" Castle stops talking for a second

"Rick, I don't think our soon to be married couple has anything to do with this. I personally think that this has something to do with Kirk's prior life as a trash man for the mob catching up with him"

"That does make more sense. What about the other passengers on the bus that afternoon"

"What about them?" Kate asks

"We need to get with the concierge and see who else was on that bus and see if maybe there is a person of interest" Castle responds

"If we find a name of someone from New York's underworld we might just solve this"

The two walk into the lobby and go directly to the registration desk

"Hello Mr. Castle, Mrs. Castle" the young desk clerk whose name tag identifiers her as 'Cindy' greets them "What can I do for you today?"

"We were wondering if we could get a list of passengers that were picked up the afternoon just before the murder?" Beckett asks

"Yes of course" Cindy turns around and goes to a shelf filled with binders. She pulls out a book marked 'Shuttle'

She flips through a few pages "Here we go"

She hands the book to Rick and Kate. They look down the page of names "This is the main list of wedding party attendees"

Then both stop at the same name. Castle comments first "Reagan Murphy. The only name on the list I do not recognize as one of the wedding party"

Beckett looks up to her husband "Me either. That might be worth looking into. Let's contact Ryan and have him search the database in the city and see what they can come up with"

Beckett turns to the clerk "Cindy, can you contact Mr. Murphy and ask him to come to the office we are working in?"

"I will be happy to Mrs. Castle"

The pair walks back to the room that they had set up as an office. They enter the room and close the door. Rick walks around the table and sits on the chair farthest from the door letting his wife have the closer chair. They had brought the van log book with them just in case there might be someone else on the sheets that they want to know about

Beckett takes out her phone and calls her partner in New York. After only one ring the voice of the Irish detective answers. "Hey Beckett, Castle how are you coming on your little murder investigation?"

Castle comments first "We might just have a suspect"

"Really?"

Beckett answers "Yeah, we got a name we need you to run for us"

They hear rustling of paper "Go ahead"

Beckett lists the information then her partner offers some more information "We found a security camera close to the apartment of our victim. The one who moved into your victim's old building"

"Can you recognize the person?"

"No, but we are checking facial recognition for matches. I will send a screen grab to you and see if this is your guy"

"Thanks Ryan" Beckett hangs up on the phone. Moments later the phone chirps when the incoming image appears

Looking at the image Castle comments "I can't really tell much about this guy"

Beckett's brow furrows as she is obviously not getting much from the picture. "Not enough of the image to tell except he is tall and has dark hair"

Castle starts to respond when there is knocking at the door

Beckett stands and opens the door to be greeted by a tall dark haired man "Hi. I am Reagan Murphy. I was told you wanted to see me?"

* * *

 **So...no one saw the Easter egg**


	11. Chapter 11

Beckett steps aside to allow the visitor entry and points toward the table for him to sit down

"Mr. Murphy, I am Detective Kate Beckett and I am with the New York Police Department" then pointing toward her husband "And this is my associate Mr. Castle. We are assisting the local police on a murder that occurred here in the hotel"

"Yes, I heard about that. One of the employees I understand"

"Yes one of the maintaince personnel was found slain in his room this morning".

"That's intense" is the man's response "Do you know who killed him?"

"That is what we are trying to determine. I understand you came in yesterday afternoon. I think on the last shuttle bus from the airport before the storm hit"

"Yes. It was a full bus"

Beckett now wonders exactly how many there were "So the bus was fully loaded?"

"Oh yeah. We were almost sitting on top of each other on the ride back here and that was over an hour"

Beckett looks at the log book. "It only contained the names of 14 guests. The bus was capable of carrying 15 passengers counting the driver"

"I don't know what to tell you, there were more than 15 people in the bus or luggage was taking up a lot of space" Murphy replies

"Did you recognize any of the other passengers?" Castle asks

"No. I have not been here before and, I was planning to meet someone. I did not know any of the others on the bus"

"Do you think there were more than 15 people on the bus?" Beckett asks

"I didn't count the people but I just know we were packed with no room to spare"

Beckett is looking at the paperwork in front of her "So who were you meeting here this weekend?"

"My girlfriend. I was at a convention in Las Vegas and she was flying in from Chicago and we were planning on meeting up. But the snowstorm prevented her flight from leaving Chicago"

"Have you spoken to her?"

"Oh yeah. She had already boarded the plane when the flight was cancelled"

"What do you do in Chicago?" Castle asks

"I am known as a detail man. I work for the drug company" He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card and passes it across the table to Beckett "My job is to call on doctors and medical practices and show them our products and convince them to prescribe our medicine for their patients"

Beckett looks over the business card. It seems authentic and has all the normal information you would expect for a sales rep. She then looks up and follows with her next question "And you girlfriend? What does she do?"

"She is a corporate lawyer. She is with one of the city's largest corporate firms. She and I were planning on spending the weekend shopping in Vail and had hopes to get some time on the slopes"

Castle seems to have a question in his head "Did you bring your own skis or were you planning on renting them when you arrived at the slopes?"

"Rent them of course. I wasn't sure if there would be snow…I was obviously wrong. There is plenty of powder to make the trip worth it"

Beckett adds to her husband's inquiry "Were there other travelers carrying their skis?"

"As a matter of fact, there was. There were several pairs of skis in the van"

Rick looks at Kate "That explains why the bus was so crowded…"

"There was a lot of luggage along with the passengers" She looks back to Murphy "Is there anything else you can think of that might help us investigate this case?"

He looks down at the table like he is considering a response "No. I did not know the victim or anyone else on the bus or here for that matter. Sorry"

"What prompted you to select this lodge for your get away?" Beckett questions

"The man actually chuckles "A Google search"

"What?"

"We were doing a Google search. We put in several criteria we were looking for and this place came up first on the list"

"I see" Beckett comments "Thank you Mr. Murphy. If we need any more information we will be in touch. Thank you"

The man stands and exits the room

Kate looks at her husband "Rick, what do you think?"

"He seems legitimate"

Beckett comments "Yeah but I will wait for a report from Ryan before we cross him off the list. I will call ask Ryan to do a background search"

In the mean time, Castle has taken his phone and started a search for Murphy's employer. Once the page loads, he flips through then comes to a particular page

"Look here Beckett" He turns the phone toward Kate "The list of sales representatives and their pictures"

The very top line lists Reagan Murphy as West Regional Sale Manager along with a photograph

"I would venture to say Mr. Murphy is not going to be our suspect much longer"

Kate shakes her head "No! Probably not. I just sent the request to Ryan, He said to give him until tomorrow. He has already gone home. It is after 6 in New York"

Castle looks at his watch "OH! I almost forgot. We have a wedding to attend. We better go get ready" He stands and pulls his wife up and they head back toward their room

While walking down the corridor Castle brings up a question "If Kirk were still alive, before yesterday, then is Sara legally eligible to remarry?"

Beckett responds "He was declared legally dead back in New York. That event released her even if he turned up alive like he did"

"Really?" Rick asks almost unbelieving

"Yes, I checked with the local police, who contacted a judge. Everything is legal and I don't think Sara or Brett is involved"

"You still think it is connected to his history and involvement with the Irish mob back in the city?"

As the two enter the elevator and the door closes "Yeah I do" she responds

After the doors close a soft moan can be heard from Castle "Kate, if you keep that up, we are going to be late"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The wedding is arranged up in the front of the main ballroom of the hotel with the reception set up in the rear. Since some of the scheduled attendees could not arrive due to the weather, all the current hotel guests were all told they were welcome to attend the services and reception following.

When Castle and Beckett enter the room several sets of eyes immediately lock on Kate. She in turn sees her old friend Maddie near the cake table.

She looks at her husband "Rick, I am going to go talk to Maddie for a few minutes then I will join you in the foyer so we are ready to enter on cue"

Rick leans down and gives Kate a kiss "Don't lose track of time" She smiles then turns to go see her old high school friend

With this arrangement several attendees had never even met the couple so Castle decides to walk around the room and meet as many new friends as he can before the ceremony gets started.

As he movers around the room very much like he once did at his book release parties in the past. He notices the hotel owners standing near the main entrance. He walks over to them

"Hello Mr. Castle" Barry Blankenship speaks as Castle steps up

"Hello Robin" he looks at the lady first then toward her husband "Barry. This is a nice little shindig you have set up for my friends"

"Robin responds "This was easy. We just did the decorations. The bride and groom brought their own caterer and she has been amazing. She was able to make some of the most interesting dishes for the wedding that we have ever seen"

Castle looks over at his wife and her high school friend chatting like two teenage girls planning to skip school to meet up with boys "Yeah. Kate has known Maddie for years not to mention her dishes are amazing. We have been to her restaurant in New York and it is really great"

Barry Blankenship comments ""we might just have to keep her here for our dining pleasure"

At this moment they hear the prelude music begin indicating it is time for the attendants to stage for their entrance.

Kate has returned to stand next to her husband so they may enter together. While they are waiting Castle tells Kate that the Blankenship's were so impressed with Maddie's food selections and how they wanted to keep her here

"Well Maddie also had some information on our hosts and their hotel"

"Oh really?" Castle asks "What did she say?"

Before Kate can answer they get their cue to enter the ceremony.

Any more conversations intended between the Castles gets delayed for a wedding, photographs, reception dinner with champagne toasts for the new couple and first dances

Rick and Kate finish their respective toasts to the couple and return to their table "You know Kate, they are very much in love. It is written all over both of them. It is so easy for other people to see that when a couple are in love with one another"

She looks at her husband "You know that is what everyone said about you and me"

He looks at Kate "Really? After we got together?"

She twines their fingers together "No. Long before that. Lanie started up on me about 6 months after you began shadowing me. She said it was written all over both of our faces when we were together working. She laughed each time we came up with the same idea or when we finished each others thoughts"

"I do love you Katherine Beckett Castle"

Her face lights up "Back at ya"

During the course of the evening Kate and Rick have been almost inseparable. An outsider would think that these two were newlyweds themselves. When the chance arrives he finally takes Kate on the dance floor and during a particularly soft slow dance.

"So Kate you said that Maddie told you something about our hosts?"

She is leaning into his ear "Just she said watched the lady from the spa, Lillian Woodley, arguing with a man that looked like the hotel owner Barry Blankenship in the hallway earlier today. She said she heard something being said about now he had told her to stay away from someone and she said she would go out with whoever she wanted to and for him to leave her alone"

As he is holding her tight to him Castle asks "So do we need to go find her and ask what the fight was about?"

Kate is pulling Rick toward a hidden alcove off the side where they will not be seen "It can wait until tomorrow. It is not like anyone here is going anywhere"

"True"

"I say we encourage the couple to depart for their honeymoon and we begin our own celebration"

"Katherine Beckett-Castle, are you trying to kill me?"

She kisses her husband gently then pulls him back against her chest "I'm just a girl looking for someone to knock her up"


	12. Chapter 12

She knows that she is up before her husband. Kate awoke with an upset stomach. She just thought it just had to be something she ate the night before at the reception. She looks to the side table and realizes it is still much too early to be getting up. It is only 4:00 AM

The feelings inside her stomach makes her think back on her selections from yesterday. A salad that originally was supposed to belong to her husband, but he gave it to her willingly. Then the wedding meal was some of the most delicious selections of food that Kate can remember ever…

Her thoughts on the prior day's selections of dining pleasure is interrupted by a driving need to throw up

She is out of the bed and into the bathroom just in time. The prior night's wonderful foods are not as enticing this morning. She realizes that even thinking about what she ate brings on more intense need to relieve herself.

After she empties the contents of her stomach, completely, she is feeling much better. She cleans herself up, turns off the bathroom light and opens the door to return to her husband. After getting back under the covers she realizes that she is still wearing exactly what she slept in the night before

Absolutely nothing

'OH yes...last night! What a wonderful night'

Pulling the covers up yo her neck, she turns to her side and slides herself back against her husband to get warm. It only takes a minute for the heat coming from his body to radiate over to her. She closes her eyes and is quickly back asleep

When the clock on the side table flips over to 7:00 AM Rick Castle begins to move as his very overworked body tries to shake loose the cobwebs of sleep. He can feel the soft smooth body of his wife snuggled up next to him. He rolls toward her direction and places his arm around her stomach. She seems to still be asleep but she does move back against him a little tighter

He whispers "Are you awake?"

"HUM?"

"Good morning love"

"Love you too"

He feels her wrap her fingers around his and holds tight to his hand

"You want to get up? Or do you have something else planed for first thing this morning?"

"I need to get up. We need to determine if our drug salesman is legit and we need to find out who the spa manger was fighting with and what they were fighting about. It might lead us somewhere"

After the previous day's activities, Rick is a little surprised his wife is back to business this morning but in a way he appreciates the time out

As they get up, Rick goes to the coffee machine and starts a two cup brew of morning wake up jolt

Kate goes to the bath room and begins a shower and just moments after her morning wash begins he hears her throwing up

"KATE! Are you OK?" she opens the bathroom door

"I must have eaten something last night that is not agreeing with me and when I smelled the coffee I just…"

She didn't have to finish the sentence. He understood

"Do I need to call a doctor?"

"First, there is no doctor to go to. We are stranded in a mountain resort. Snow bound…and no! I will be fine. Just a bad shrimp or something else I ate"

"Are you sure"

"I'm sure. I already feel better so you can come in and get your shower and we will go down to the breakfast buffet and you can get something. I will probably keep it light"

"If you are sure?"

"I am. So you get your shower and I will get dressed"

She stands and has wrapped a towel around herself as Rick moves past her and gets in the stall to get ready for the day

When Rick finishes his shower he moves to the sink in the bathroom and dries his hair and shaves. When he returns to the bedroom Kate is sitting on the edge of the bed with a funny look on her face

"What's wrong love?"

"I tried to put on my bra and my nipples hurt really bad"

"Hasn't that happened before? Like just before your period?"

"Yeah, but I am not due for another week and this is worse than ever before?"

"So are you planning on going without…like you did to me before on the cruise ship?" He seems a little distracted by the thought

She puts on a shy smile "No. I finally got it on. We will have to see if it keeps bothering me and if it does I might have to make other arrangements"

"OK. Well let me gets some clothes on and we can go down"

It only takes Castle a few minutes to put on a pair of slacks and a shirt. He and Kate have brought very warm outer appearal removing the need for jackets or coats as long as they stay indoors

Walking hand in hand down the hall, it is evident that Rick is concerned about his wife "Are you sure that you are OK, Kate?"

"I feel better. I think that is was just something that did not agree with me"

As the elevator doors open and the pair enter "As long as you are sure. But if you start feeling bad again, you will let me know?"

"Yes" she responds then leans her head over to his side

The couple walk into the main ballroom that has now returned to its normal set-up. Tables for guests surrounding a large table covered with breakfast fare. Then at the end of the room stands a chef preparing custom egg and omelet orders

"Rick, I am going to go sit down. Will you bring me some fruit or something lite? You know what I like"

Kate sits down at one of the tables and watches her husband as he walks to the table containing fresh fruit for her

Just as he walks away she hears a woman's voice "Hello Mrs. Castle. How are you?"

Kate turns her head toward the voice to see the hotel owner, Robin Blankenship, standing beside her table "I am doing very well, how about you?"

The woman responds "I am doing relatively well, but I will be doing much better sometime in the next two weeks"

Kate points to the chair beside her "Please sit. You look like you could use the rest"

"Thank you. I never refuse the chance to get the extra weight off my feet"

Kate decides that this might be a time for her to talk to another woman who has been down the pregnancy road more than once.

"So you are due real soon?"

"Yeah. They say next week, but knowing my schedule, it could happen any moment now"

"OH?" Beckett now seems concerned that it might happen at any moment

"Each of my first two were a little early, but the doctor said they were full term and were ready to see the world and I am so ready for this one" She rubs her stomach gently

Beckett needs to ask some questions so she decides to get some insight into motherhood while her husband is waiting for his omelet to be made

"Robin, you seem miserable yet this is not your first child, so you knew ahead of time what it would be like"

The woman looks at Beckett with a smile "Kate. This is the most amazing thing I have ever done. Having children that is. I would not trade the experience for anything else on the planet"

"It is just…you said something the first time I met you about how miserable you were. Your butt getting bigger along with your boobs and the misery of having to go to the bathroom every few minutes"

"Oh it is an issue but your boobs shrink back, the hips recover and every moment you hold your baby, every time you nurse him or her, every moment of bonding is so worth it. If you work real hard, your body will recover a few months after the baby is born"

Kate is thinking about what this change will mean for her and Rick in their personal life. She has really enjoyed being married to Rick and enjoyed every moment of their more intimate times. She wonders how this will affect that time

"I am just wondering how being pregnant will affect our…personal life and by personal life i mean..."

"I know what you mean. My pregnancies caused my libido to go through the roof. Each time I got pregnant my sex drive went into high gear. I could not get enough of Barry. Kate. If you are satisfied in the bedroom then it will probably be great. Is yours good?"

Beckett's face turns a little pink "Yeah. Very satisfied and I hope it stays that way"

"How has it been during this trip?"

Beckett turns even more red than before "Great. Really, really great"

"So Kate! Let me ask you a question"

Robin pauses then drops the bomb

"When are you due?"

"EXCUSE ME! WHAT?" Beckett almost can't breathe "What do you mean?"

The woman reaches over and touches Kate's hand "You have the glow of a woman carrying a child"

Beckett looks down to see a pregnancy test in the woman's hand "Go verify. But I am right"

Kate smiles and then takes the box and places it in her pocket

At this moment Castle sits down with breakfast and is wondering why his wife looks like a deer in the headlights

"I brought you a bagel with just butter…"

The instant she smells his food, Beckett jumps up and rushes toward the closest bathroom

Rick comments "She has felt bad this morning. I wonder what's wrong with my wife?"

The host decides she is not the one to tell the man he is going to become a father "I am sure it's something she will get over…soon"

The woman stands "I need to go check on something. I will talk to you two later"

After a few minutes Kate returns to the table and waits for Rick to finish his egg dish. When he puts down his silverware Kate takes his hand "Can we go back to the room for a few minutes?"

"Are you wanting to…you know?"

She smiles an evil smile "Yeah, I do. But I need to make sure about something else while we are there"


	13. Chapter 13

New York City

The two homicide detectives are up to their proverbial elbows in their case and the linked case in Colorado where Castle and Beckett are trying to determine who the killer is and what the connection is to the victim in New York

"Hey Ryan, did you get that information back on the Chicago salesman Beckett wanted?" Esposito asks

"Yeah. He seems legit. According to both the web page and the HR manager he is their top salesman. He's been with the company for over 10 years. Went to work there right out of college"

"So Castle and Beckett still have an unknown suspect on the loose?"

"It looks that way. Did you find any more out about our victim here?" Ryan asks

"Our victim, Joshua Clements that just moved in to the old apartment that was vacated by Sara Green's husband, Kirk. He was probably just unfortunate that he moved in when he did"

Ryan continues the thought "But the way apartments are in New York, he was lucky to find a place"

"Or unlucky to find a place to get murdered in"

The desk phone rings on Esposito's desk. The Hispanic detective reaches over and picks up the handset "Esposito…"

"Really? That is good information. Thanks" he hangs up the phone "That was surveillance. They may have found an image of the killer on street cam"

What have you got?" Ryan asks

"There is man leaving the corner across from the apartment at the time of the murder and no others for several minutes. They are sending a screen grab for us to look at"

Ryan acknowledges then turn back to his computer "I am sending Beckett the information we have on Reagan Murphy"

Esposito's computer chirps indicating an arriving e-mail. Javier opens the message and the attachment. Both detectives look at the image but neither one recognizes the man. It is definitely NOT one of the Irish mob's known hit men

"So who is this?" Ryan asks

"Let's call the FBI and see if they would look at this and run it through their facial recognition software and come up with a name"

"Already on it" Esposito responds as she types an e-mail address to forward the file

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Colorado

Katherine Beckett Castle is standing in the bathroom looking at herself in the mirror. She is touching up the little makeup she wears. It is a good thing that her face is mostly void of cosmetics since what her and her husband just did would require a large amount of repairs.

Her mind goes back to the victim here at the hotel. She knows they need to focus on the case but she has found it very difficult concentrating on the case. He heart keeps wanting to take her husband and drag him back to their room. She decides that it is best if they can put all their concentration on finding the killer…then they can concentrate on other activities

Just as she finishes putting a tiny amount of lip gloss on Castle enters the room. She looks up to his face in the mirror but she does not see his usual goofy grin. It appears he has something more serious on his mind

"Kate can we talk before we go back down to the interrogation office?"

"Sure? She is slightly worried about his demeanor at the moment. She finishes her gloss then walks out to the bedroom. Just as she sits down on the edge of the bed Castle joins her.

"I need to ask a question"

Just as she says "OK" her cell phone rings. She hold it up so Castle can see that it is the 12th precinct

"Go ahead" he responds "we can finish later"

She presses the accept button "Beckett"

After listening "OK. So he is a known hit man? Just not from the Irish mob but the Mexican drug cartel? I don't understand." Again she listens a minute "OH Really?" She seems honestly surprised by something. "Keep us in the loop. Thanks Ryan"

After punching the end button, Beckett holds the phone up between her and Castle. "It appears the victim in New York may have actually been the target after all"

"I thought he had recently moved into town and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and had nothing to do with Kirk Green"

"He does not have any connection to Kirk Green. He was a recent college graduate that had been running a little side business selling drugs on campus before he graduated"

"So how did that get him killed after he moved to the city?"

"The DEA said that the hit man works for one of the most violent south of the border cartels and they have a policy that you never out"

"And the victim tried to leave the drug business?"

"That is what the Feds think. They actually had a file on him. They had contacted him to roll over on the cartel"

"That is probably what got him killed?" Castle comments

"Exactly"

"So now we know that Kirk's killer is probably not from New York and we need to focus on suspects here"

"So Castle. Limiting our suspects to here, who is top of your list?"

"Honestly? Barry Blankenship"

Beckett stops cold in her tracks "Barry Blankenship? Seriously? Why in the world do you think he is the killer and what evidence do you have?"

"The other day when I went to get you a sandwich that you did not eat by the way, he and I were talking and he did not seem to be the least bit interested at the death of one of his employees"

"What did he say?"

"He mostly asked about you and that you were a cop and the model for Nikki Heat"

"Maybe he is just a fan"

"Didn't you say that Maddie saw someone that looked like Barry arguing with Kirk's girlfriend, the lady from the hotel spa?"

The pair stop in the door to the impromptu office "Yeah she did. We need to get Maddie back here to see what else she remembers about the argument. I will call her and have her come down"

Kate picks up her phone and dials Maddie's number. When Kate's old high school friend answers, she asks her to come down to the office

Maddie tells Kate that she was just down the hall in the prep kitchen showing the hotel chef some of her recipes

After Beckett hangs up on the phone she turns toward her husband "she will be here in a few minutes" Kate takes a deep breath "Castle, back in our room you wanted to talk about something. What was it?"

Considering the place and the possibility of being interrupted "We can do that later when we get back in our room when there is no possibility of unwanted visitors barging in"

There is a knock on the door and when Castle opens the door Maddie Quillar steps in to the room

"Hey Becks. What can I do for you two?"

"When we talked at the wedding, you said something about seeing the spa manager arguing with a man about something?"

"Yeah. I couldn't hear all the conversation but something was said about do not see him again and the man rushed off"

"When was that?"

"The day before you arrived"

Kate looks at Rick "Then Kirk was still alive" She turns back to Maddie "you said he looked like the owner Barry Blankenship?"

"I had not met Barry yet but the man sis look a lot like him. Why? Do you think he is involved?"

"We need to keep all out options open. Do you remember anything else about the fight?"

Maddie thinks for a moment "Just, the girl stormed off angry"

"OK thanks" Kate responds. We will call you if we need more"

The lady walks back out of the room

"So Beckett? It looks like our host may be the guilty party"

She responds "He has a wife who very pregnant…"

Castle continues "he finds her unattractive…"

"He spots a younger, beautiful girl…"

"She is interested in sex and his wife isn't…"

Beckett breaks the chain "No! Wait. I talked to Robin and she said that was not an issue with her and her husband"

"You talked to Robin Blankenship about their sex life?"

"No…not exactly. It just…"Kate has become a little embarrassed in this conversation "when we were talking about her pregnancy she admitted that their love life became more intense during her pregnancy"

"So you think her husband is not interested in straying?"

"Not according to Robin"

The voice of their host breaks into the room "What's not according to me?"

Standing in the doorway is Robin Blankenship

"Hi Robin" Beckett comments "Come in" Castle steps aside to allow the woman in the room

"What can we do for you this morning?" Beckett asks

"This murder. The man that was killed? I might have some information to help you find a suspect"

"Please come in and sit down: Castle remarks

"Thank you" the woman moves slowly to the table and eases herself down

"What information do you have on our murder, Robin" Kate asks

"It might have been a lovers' triangle" Robin answers "I think that Lillian had been seeing someone but she broke it off. He got mad when she started seeing Carl or rather Kirk…or whatever his real name is"

"So who do you think it is?" Castle asks

But just as he does Robing takes a deep breath and is obviously in some level of pain

"OH!" she reaches down to her stomach "I think my water just broke"

* * *

 **Dear me. Pregnant woman whose water broke.**

 **Trapped with killer in a ski lodge.**

 **Kate feeling frisky**

 **Castle wondering why**

 **What can possible go wrong?**


	14. Chapter 14

"EXCUSE ME? WHAT?"

The panic in Kate Beckett's voice is impossible to miss. She is definitely not ready to deliver a baby. But Detective Beckett is probably the most qualified person in the room

Looking up at her husband, there is no doubt that he is not anywhere close to being qualified to deliver a baby.

"You can't have a baby. I mean not right now. Not until we can get you to a hospital" Beckett says in a very panicked voice

Robin is obviously in a great deal of discomfort at this moment "Kate I AM having this baby and based on my contractions it will be very, very soon"

Kate turns to her husband "Rick! Do you know how to deliver a baby?"

"You are the police officer. Isn't that part of your training?"

At least, while she was in the police academy, they were given a two day course in emergency medical assistance. Training such as choking, heart attack and doing CPR. But the one item Kate paid the least attention to was the four hours of instruction on emergency baby delivery and postpartum care until more qualified medical attention arrives

But there is no way any part of that training is coming to the front of her brain right now.

"And why would you think I would know how to deliver a baby?" Castle asks

"RESEARCH! You do a lot of research for your books. I figured you probably researched delivering babies"

"I did not have Derrick Storm deliver any babies! But what I can do is go see if I can find someone help you"

Castle stands and rushes out the door

"CASTLE! DO NOT LEAVE ME HERE ALONE!" Beckett almost screams

Rick sticks his head back inside "What do you want me to do?"

"Go get Maddie. She is in the kitchen. Tell her to bring some hot water and towels"

"What's the hot water for?"

"I don't know. That's what they always do in the movies. Get hot water"

"OK" then he rushes out the door moving toward the kitchen.

Robin is feeling the contractions and is honestly concerned "Kate. Will you call up and get my husband down here? I need him"

Beckett has a feeling that the husband might actually be their killer, based on what Rick just told her and Maddie's description of a man fighting with Lillian Woodley

"Robin. When Castle comes back with Maddie, I will have him go get your husband and bring him down"

"Thank you" she replies through staggered breath

Kate helps the woman stand from the chair and has her to lie down on the couch on the other side of the room. She asks Robin if there is any bedding nearby and she answers Beckett by pointing at a closet on the opposite side of the room. Kate goes and brings out a pillow and some sheets along with a blanket.

Beckett helps her to partly undress just in case the baby does come. Then has her lay down on the couch. Kate covers her with the blanket and places a pillow under her head

After the task of making Robin as comfortable as possible Beckett continues in her quest to bring in help "Does the police or medical services have a helicopter they could send?"

"They have one but they can't bring it here"

"Why not?"

"We don't have a helipad for them to land on and if they had a place to land, the rotor wash would blow all the snow up and cause a white out condition. Too dangerous for everyone both in the helicopter and in the hotel"

"OK. Don't they have snowplows?"

"Those are already working in town but we are low in the priority list to get the snow plowed up here" Robin feels another contraction coming on and reacts to the pain

This causes Beckett to feel a little increased concern about her own plans on motherhood. Watching another woman in labor is not the most encouraging event for Kate right now

"Are you OK?" Beckett asks as the contraction subsides

"Yeah fine. But that was a good one"

At that moment Castle rounds the corner with Maddie close behind "Becks! What are you doing?"

"Hey, Maddie. It looks like I am going to be a mid wife today" Kate turns toward her husband "Castle. Go get Barry and have them call the paramedics and see if they can get up here some way. I think this baby is coming sooner than later"

If Kate Beckett had a camera she would be taking a picture of her husband. He is standing in the door with a look on his face of sheer terror. Anyone can tell that he has no desire to be in the room at this moment

"Castle! Are you OK?"

"NO…Yes…I don't know. I have…I never…this is not…"

"Castle. You had a daughter. Were you not there when she was born?"

"No! Meredith did not want me in the delivery room. She did not want me to see her sweat…or scream…or cry"

"So you were not in the room when Alexis was born?"

The look of panic on Richard Castle's face should be answer enough for anyone. He is standing slack jaw in the doorway with all the color draining from his face

"Castle. Are you going to be OK?" you look like you are about to pass out"

He staggers a moment then turns away from the scene inside "I am going to go get her husband" and they can hear his footsteps fading as the leave the area

Beckett turns back to her patient "I hope he gets to your husband before he faints"

Katherine Beckett is more nervous than she had been since her first night on the streets of New York as a patrol officer

/\\\/\/\/\/\/\

Richard Castle was never happier to remove himself from a situation. Standing in that door, looking at the woman in labor was almost more than he could deal with.

As he is waiting for the elevator, she starts to wonder if he was wrong on going along with them having a child. It would not be fair to ask Kate to go through pain and suffering events he just witnessed.

When the door opened and he is deposited on the main floor, he moves quickly toward the desk where the clerk from the other day is still greeting the guests "hello Mr. Castle. What can I do for you?"

"I am looking for Barry…Mr. Blankenship. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes. I saw him entering the employee hallway. Leading to the staff bedrooms. You should find him there" she is pointing toward the closed door marked 'Employees Only'. The same door that leads to the victim's room

"Thanks" Castle turns and rushes thru the door and down the corridor where he and Kate had been investigating the crime scene earlier.

Initially, he does not see anyone, but just as he nears the last corner before turning toward the victim's room he hears voices.

Loud Voices

He looks around the corner and sees two men standing close to one another. One is Barry Blankenship and the other he does not recognize. But the man has an eerie similarity to the hotel owner. In Castle's mind this man could easily be the owner's twin brother

Rick stands still for a minute to try and hear what is happening between the two men. He does not hear complete sentences but he does hear "I told you to leave them alone! But you just had to do this didn't you?"

When the two men see Castle come around the corner towards the rooms they step back from each other.

"Hey Barry! I…uh" Rick is staring at the other man

"Oh hi Rick" when Barry realizes that Castle is looking confused "this is my brother Mark" pointing to the other man

Castle holds out his hand "Nice to meet you Mark" then looking back at Barry "Your twin brother?"

"No. We only have a little over a year between us. Mark is the younger brother"

"OK?" there is a pause from Castle then "Barry, I came to get you. Your wife went into labor. She is down in the office with Beckett"

Barry turns to his brother. "We will finish this later" he looks at Castle "Is she OK?"

"So far. My wife and her friend Maddie are watching her. But I need to know if we can get the medical teams up here?"

"Yeah. I will have Cindy call and tell them to send paramedics in a snow cat. That is the only way they can get up here right now"

Barry looks at his brother "You come with us?" he points toward the exit

The three men rush back toward the exit door and down to the office. After Barry and Mark pass by. Castle stops at the desk and tells the clerk to tell them to send the police too

/\/\/\/\/\/

Kate Beckett has taken her phone out and called the only person she knew could help, Lanie Parish, MD

"Hey girlfriend, you taking a break from making babies?"

"Lanie we need help delivering a baby"

"WHAT? That was quick. I didn't know you were due"

"Not me silly. I am here at the lodge and the owner's wife went into labor and we are trapped by a giant snowfall. The paramedics are hours away and Maddie and I will have to do this"

"Kate, you know it has been many years since I worked labor and delivery?"

"You are the closest thing I have, so are you going to help me with this?"

"Of course, Kate. Now first thing. How far apart are the contractions?"

Beckett proceeds to answer all of Lanie's questions.

In the meantime, Maddie looks up as Barry enters the room with Mark and Castle stopping in the doorway.

During a break in Kate's conversation with Lanie, Maddie whispers to Kate that the Barry was the man she saw fighting with the spa woman, Lillian

"Are you sure?" Beckett asks

Maddie simply nods her head in the affirmative

Kate tells Lanie to hold just a minute, she stands, and steps outside pulling her husband with her. Once they have reached a safe distance "Castle. Barry is the man Maddie saw fighting with Lillian"

"I know" Castle responds "I caught Mark and Barry fighting. I think they were fighting about killing Kirk"

Beckett responds "You think that Barry was the man who killed Kirk?"

"I think that is very possible"

"I wish the police were here" Kate comments

"I got them on the way"

The conversation is interrupted by the loud voice from Maddie Quillar "Kate! Get in here. The baby us coming"

* * *

 **I Think I will wrap up ths one in the next chapter**


	15. Chapter 15

The quiet of the area is broken by the sound of crying. Not just any crying but the crying of a newborn infant breathing his first breath

Richard Castle standing with Mark Blankenship along with several other hotel staff are outside the office listening to the events transpiring inside.

No one could miss the happy sounds of both Robin and Barry as they experienced the birth of their newest child. A girl

Kate Beckett is holding the newborn and she has a relieved smile on her face since there have been no problems with the delivery. Maddie is helping her by tying off the cord with a nylon zip tie they had found and sterilized in advance

Kate looks at her phone "Lanie we have a girl"

"I can hear her. She sounds like her lungs are strong and healthy. How is her color?"

"She is the prettiest shade of pink you have ever seen" Maddie answers "She is beautiful"

"Well, you two ladies have now delivered your first baby and it looks like you did a good job of it. How is the mother doing?" Lanie continues to check on everyone's condition

"She is good" Kate responds she then looks at Barry who has an appearance complete happiness on his face "And the dad is good too"

"Well then you two probably don't need me anymore. Be sure to keep the baby warm. She might just want to eat something so let her nurse if she tries"

"Thanks Lanie" Beckett hangs up on the call

Kate stands up and walks to the sink and washes up then moves to the door of the room. Opening it she sees Rick just outside wide eyes and actually smiling

"So you can add midwife to your resume?"

Kate lays her head down on Castle's shoulder "That was quite an experience"

He touches her chin and pulls her face up to look at him "I am so proud of you"

She drops her head back down "Thanks but we still have another job to do" She raises back up and whispers to Castle "We have to go arrest a killer"

"Yeah I know. But do we have to pull Barry out right now?"

Kate is looking in the room at Maddie who has just taken the baby away to clean her up a little "I would like to have this all worked out before the police and paramedics arrive"

Castle steps into the room "Barry…can I talk to you a minute?"

The man is admiring his baby girl then looks at Castle "Sure" he turns to Robin and kisses her on the head "I love you…I will be right back"

She responds "Hurry"

"I will"

The man walks out of the room and joins Castle and Beckett who have now begun to move away from the room with the mother and child.

When they have reached a safe distance Beckett turns to look at the man "Mr. Blankenship, what can you tell me about the death of Kirk Green or as you knew him Carl Riley?"

The man seems very nervous before responding "Nothing. I mean nothing at all. Why?"

Beckett starts up "You were overheard arguing with Lillian Woodley. Some things were said that makes me believe that you knew her and Kirk were romantically involved"

This seems to catch Barry unplanned "They were seeing each other?"

Castle continues "You know full well they were seeing each other. I talked to some of the other staff and they confirmed that it was open knowledge among the workers here"

Beckett then lowers the hammer on him "Were you two having an affair?"

Barry immediately goes on the defense "NO! Why would I do that? Why would I take a chance on ruining my marriage? Robin and I have been happily married for fifteen years"

Castel goes on the offensive "You had a pregnant wife. She was talking about being miserable. That could not have been very romantic"

"NO! You don't understand. I love my wife. I would never cheat on her"

"Barry. You are a healthy red blooded male. In need of a little female companionship! Your wife is no longer attractive to you or in the mood for love and you are needing some love?"

"Now I know you don't understand! Robin and I have a great love life. Even with her expecting it is still great. I mean really great. I could not ask for more and I definitely would not cheat on the most beautiful woman who is the love of my life"

This statement makes Rick stop for a minute then Barry points between Kate and Rick "How much do you love your wife? That is how much I love mine. She is my everything"

Beckett is not completely listening to the interchange between the two men. She has her mind caught in the things that Robin told her earlier about how her desire for her husband had gone super nova

"OK! Let's say that we believe you" Kate starts up "why were you and Lillian fighting about her seeing Kirk?"

Barry looks down at his hands "I was not telling her to not see Kirk" He looks back up at the Castles "I was telling her to stay away from my brother"

"Your brother?" Beckett asks

Barry seems truly upset. "Mark has some history. I hired him to get him away from his old life"

"What did he do in his old life?"

"He…"

"He what?" Beckett asks firmly

"He has a temper. When things don't go his way he gets mad"

"Mad enough to kill?" Castle asks

Barry looks back down the hall "I don't know"

Beckett begins the next line of questions "What is his job here?"

"He works in landscaping. Keeping the outside of the hotel looking nice. Trimming the grass and trees. Keeps them cut back so we don't have landscaping break due to snow or ice"

"Is that all?"

"He also drives the shuttle van"

Kate looks at Rick "That is why Kirk got upset when he saw the van pull in. He was afraid if Mark"

Beckett turns to Barry "We need to talk to Mark. He is now a person of interest in the case"

"I understand. I will go get him" Barry turns then stops and looks back "And detective… Thank you"

"For what?"

"Taking care of my wife and new daughter"

Beckett nods her head back to the man

Kate turns to her husband "That would explain the argument Maddie saw…"

"And the discussion I witnessed between Mark and Barry"

They look and see Barry walking beside his brother. Mark has his head down. When they step up beside Castle and Beckett she looks at Mark "I need to read you your rights" she proceeds and repeats the words she has spoken so many times in her career

When she finishes Mark looks up at "I did it"

"Are you confessing to the murder of Kirk Green also known as Carl Riley?"

"Yes. I killed him"

"What happened?" Castle asks

"I went to his room to tell him to stay away from Lillian…we fought and I took a lamp from the side table and I hit him with it"

"Mark Blankenship…you are under arrest for the murder of Kirk Green" Kate reaches into her pocket and brings out and extra zip tie she had "Turn around" and she uses it as restraints

/\/\/\/\/\/\

It is only about an hour before they hear the sound of a snow cat pulling up in the front of the hotel. Very quickly the paramedics are surrounding the mother and baby. One of the medical team come out to the corridor where Kate and Maddie long with Rick are standing

"Someone did a great job in there. Which one played doctor?"

Kate and Maddie both raided their hands

"Well. Good job both of you. Mother and baby are doing great because of you. Thanks"

The focus on the newborns swiftly shifts to the suspect and the local police officer who also arrived with the medical team

"Who detained the suspect?"

This time Beckett and Castle raised their hands

He looks at Beckett "I am being told you are a New York police officer?"

"A detective in homicide"

"Well thanks for solving the case. I understand actually arrested him and restrained him and read him his rights. I guess you left only the paperwork to be done? Would you like to come to the station to do that?""

Kate gives out a little chuckle "No. I think for once I will join my husband and not hang around for the paperwork"

"Very well detective. And thanks again. The officer moves down the hall escorting his prisoner out to the snow cat

Castle turns to step in front of his wife "I thought you would want to go finish the arrest report and see the prisoner being locked up"

Kate's face actually turns a little red "No. I have other plans for the rest of the day. I have spent all day suppressing what I desire the most and none of them involve police work"

She takes him by the hand and begins pulling him toward their room

* * *

 **I originally planned this to be the last chapter but decided to finish in an Epilogue that I plan to post this weekend**


	16. Epilogue

Castle lets his wife into the shower first. They plan to relax a little while then go down to the dining room for supper.

Kate has closed the bathroom door and locked it this time. She normally does not lock the door. She really doesn't mind her husband walking in on her while she is naked but today she wants to do something without his snooping into her actions

She has finished her shower and dried off. Looking at her reflection in the mirror her mind begins to wander 'Am I ready for a giant change in my life? Our lives?'

So far, being with Rick has been an adventure. They had previously been thru so much together then to fall in love. Real, honest, deep love was far more than her heart believed was even possible.

But it had happened and now she is holding a test strip in her hand, given to her by their host, to verify what the woman said about Kate is true

When she came out of the bathroom, she told her husband to hurry up and shower and she would be waiting for him in the bed. After he left the room, she dropped her towel and went to the suitcase and took out a new night gown that she had bought just for this trip. She had not had a chance to wear it for him since they had mostly jumped over any romantic seduction during this trip

When Castle exited the bathroom and returned to the bedroom he sees his wife sitting up at the head of the bed. She has the pillows behind her, propping her to an upright sitting position.

But all his brain can do is focus on the barely there outfit she is wearing that is almost covering her but leaving very little to the imagination

She puts on her most precious smile, pats the bed beside her, and with her most seductive voice tells him to come lay down beside her

What she was not expecting was his reaction as he begins to lower himself on the bed. "Kate we need to talk"

She suddenly feels like there is a problem. Did he change his mind about the baby? Is he having second thoughts?"

She reaches out to touch his face "Babe. What's wrong?"

"Kate…I need to know something"

"OK"

"Are you still satisfied with our marriage…with me?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"Please Kate. If I am falling short, you would tell me?"

She slides her hand across his face "Rick…what is on your mind?"

He shifts in the bed to more directly face her "Ever since we have been here you have seemed…I don't know how to put this"

"Just say it Rick. I've seemed what?"

"Like you are not getting everything you need"

She shifts to face him "What do you mean? Everything I need?"

"You seem to need intimacy. More intimacy than before. If I am not doing something, you would tell me? Right?"

"Castle! What are you saying?"

"Kate. Are your needs not being taken care of by me?"

She actually lets out a giggle "My needs? Where is this coming from?"

"Ever since we arrived, you have been all over me like you are being left hungry. Like you are not being satisfied. Kate am I not taking care of you?"

"You silly, silly man" she grabs his hand and pulls him to her chest

"What?"

"Do you think that I have ever faked an orgasm with you?"

"Maybe to protect my ego?"

Another laugh "I will tell you that between you and me that I have never had to fake anything. Our sex life is more than I ever thought possible"

"So these last few days…you have been…satisfied?"

"Oh yes, Mr. Castle. Very satisfied"

"So why the quick urge for more?"

"Castle. You and I both love Chinese food. Right?"

"Yeah?"

"And how many times after a very filling and satisfying meal are you hungry again an hour later?"

"A lot of times"

Kate begins to move over Rick placing herself in his lap "Maybe this has become the Peking Duck. I am very filled and satisfied and I get hungry for more an hour later"

"Sounds delicious. I wouldn't mind if this lasts a little while longer"

She places her arms around the back of his neck "I figure at least another 9 months"

"You think this is…" he stops in his thought "9 months?"

"UM HUM"

"You are?"

"Yup. I am"

* * *

 **Another trip into the underbelly of murders wrapped up. And the beginning of a new chapter in their lives**  
 **Thank you for reading and reviewing**


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